Initiates
by Proteus-92
Summary: Four months have passed since the end of the War, and as Sokka and Suki search for Space Sword, they are approached by an old ally- one with an offer too tempting to refuse...
1. Confession

Water. Earth. Fire. Air.

Our grandmother used to tell us stories about the old days- a time of peace, when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him the most… he vanished. A hundred years passed, and the Fire Nation neared victory, but then, everything changed again. My sister and I found a kid, frozen in an iceberg. His name is Aang, and he's an airbender. But not just any airbender- he's the very last one. And not only that… he's the Avatar. Now, I know what you're thinking: Him? That goofy kid? _He's_ the Avatar? Believe me, I thought the exact same thing when I first found out. But he really is. Me, Aang, and my sister Katara travelled over the world so Aang could master the four elements and defeat the Fire Lord. And he did, four months ago. But even though the Fire Lord is gone, we still have a lot of work to do before things can get back to normal.

**Initiates**

**By: Proteus-92**

Chapter I: Confession

"Going somewhere?"

Sokka yelped in surprise, the machete he had been holding falling to the floor with a clatter. He slowly turned to the doorway behind him, trying in vain to make the burning in his face go away. Suki leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, a stern look on her face. She straightened and walked toward him, wiping off her war paint on the sleeve of her uniform. She frowned pitifully and asked, "And you weren't even going to say goodbye to me?"

Sokka looked away. He saw through her act right away. She was trying to make him feel guilty and tell her what was going on. He hated when Suki did this. But the only thing he hated more was lying to her. He replied sheepishly, "I didn't think I'd have to."

Suki raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? And why not?"

"Well…" He hesitated. There was absolutely no way he could justify himself, but he still had to say something. "…I'd only be gone for a few weeks."

"Doing what?"

Sokka sighed; he might as well come clean now. "…I want to go look for Space Sword."

"That's it?" She held her hand up to her chest and feigned a sigh of relief. "For a minute there I was worried you were going to do something dangerous." She stopped in front of him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "How about I come with you?" He asked defensively, "Is this about my leg? Katara told me she fixed it up! I'll be fine!"

"If you'd been listening, she also said not to overexert yourself. Your leg still needs a few months to fully heal."

"You think I can't handle myself?"

Suki's only reply was a smirk- even with the end of the war four months prior, Sokka still hadn't been able to avoid the occasional spot of trouble. Wisely, he kept his mouth shut. "So, what do you say?"

Sokka sighed. "Okay. You can come." Suki leaned in and kissed him. "I'm glad you see things my way." She sat down at the edge of Sokka's bed. "So what's the plan?"

"Well, I lost Space Sword up in the Wulong Forest. So, I was gonna head there and see if I could find it."

"That reminds me… you lost Boomerang too, didn't you?"

"Yeah…"

"Hey, maybe if we're lucky, we'll find Boomerang too."

"Yeah… maybe we can!" Sokka gave her a wide smile. She smiled back and replied, "I knew that'd make you feel better. Now, start packing."

Sokka bent down, picked up his machete, and slid it into its sheath. He then laid it down next to his bag and said, "Okay, I'm done."

Suki stood up. "Okay, now come on and help me pack."

* * *

The next morning came. Suki, like always, woke up first. She got dressed, left her room and crossed the hall to Sokka's room. She peered inside; he, of course, was still sleeping. She crept over to his bed as quietly as she could; when she was next to it, she leaned over to him and whispered, "Hey, Sokka… wake up. Sokka. _Sokka_." He didn't stir. She had an idea, and said to Sokka in her best impression of Toph, "Hey, uh… _Snoozles_! Wake up!" Sokka turned away from her and mumbled, "Nng… go away Toph. Too early." Suki was slightly disappointed, but then an evil smile crept across her face. She snuck out of the room and returned a few minutes later with an apple; she knew he preferred meat, but it was the only food she could find in the house. She returned to his bedside and waved the apple over his face.

Immediately, he sniffed. Still sleeping, his arm slowly lifted to grab the apple. Slowly, she moved it so it was just out of his grasp. He continued to reach for the apple, eventually sitting up. _Perfect_, Suki thought to herself as she moved the apple toward the edge of the bed. Sokka got up on his hands and knees and crawled toward the apple, one arm still groping for it. She suppressed a giggle. _Almost there_. Finally he reached the edge of the bed; he tried to crawl forward, but his hand met only empty air, and he tumbled out of bed and crashed to the floor. At this point Suki lost control and burst out laughing.

"Ugh, you know, that wasn't very funny," Sokka grumbled at her. Suki dropped the apple, and Sokka's arm shot out to catch it. As he ravenously devoured the apple, Suki said to him, "Get dressed, Sokka. And don't forget your bag. I need to tell everyone that we're going."

Ten minutes later, Sokka and Suki climbed the hill up to the dojo. As was the new custom, everyone was waiting outside for them. However, the other Kyoshi Warriors weren't the only ones waiting for them- a few of the younger men from the Southern and Northern Water Tribe waited there as well.

_About two months after the war ended, and after the Southern Water Tribe had been rebuilt, Sokka's father Hakoda and grandfather Pakku asked Suki to train warriors from the two Water Tribes. After a bit of persuasion, she agreed, on the condition that they would only stay for a few months and leave when their training was complete; a few weeks later, the first group sailed to Kyoshi Island to begin training. On the first day, as Suki was introducing herself, one of the older boys had made the very bad mistake of saying out loud, "A woman? What will we learn from her, how to run away from a fight?"_

_Suki stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Who said that?"_

_The boy stepped forward confidently. "I did."_

_A few of the Kyoshi Warriors waiting nearby, and Sokka, began to rise, but Suki held out her arm to stop them. She smiled pleasantly at the boy and said, "Come here."_

_The boy approached. As soon as he was close, in one swift motion, she kicked out her leg, knocking the boy off his feet, grabbed his arm, slammed him facedown against the ground, and pinned the boy's arm behind his back. "Let me make something perfectly clear to you: You will _not_ disrespect me. You will _not_ disrespect any of the other Kyoshi Warriors. And if you do… do you really want to find out?"_

_The boy frantically shook his head, and Suki released him. "That goes for the rest of you, too. If you give any of my girls any problems… what's left of you will be going home. Do I make myself clear?" A few nodded, but most were too terrified to move. "Good. Tomorrow, I'll be pairing each of you with a Kyoshi Warrior. Make sure to be here early. Now if you don't have any questions, get out of my sight."_

Before they had even come up the slope, a small boy rushed over to Suki. "Master Suki!" he said excitedly to her. "I finally did it! I finally figured out that knife throwing thing!"

"You did? That's great! Can you show me?" Without hesitating, he pulled a small knife from his belt and snapped out his arm; the knife flew through the air, almost completely invisible, before embedding itself in a nearby tree.

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Wow. Not bad at all, kid."

"Excellent work, Chao. You've definitely improved that since you last showed me that. Now, why don't you get your knife and sit with the others? I have an announcement to make." The boy hurried off to retrieve his knife before joining the others. "Don't you think it's kind of dangerous to give a kid a knife like that?" Sokka asked.

"Don't worry, Sokka. Chao's probably more responsible than anyone else here. I'm the one who teaches him after all."

"W-wait, that was Chao? Really?"

"Yeah. But we'll talk about that later." She walked toward the dojo's entrance, where everyone had gathered, and said loudly, "Okay everyone, gather round. I have an announcement." Everyone moved closer so they could hear what Suki had to say. "Well, as a lot of you know, Sokka and I know the Avatar. Now a few days ago, we got a letter asking us to go see him, so we'll be gone for a few weeks. We'll be back as soon as we can, but in the meantime…" Suki pointed towards one particular Kyoshi Warrior, one with long brown hair tied in a braid and big gray eyes. "Ty Lee, you're in charge until Sokka and I get back." All eyes immediately fell on Ty Lee, who looked back at them nervously. Trying to shake off her nerves, she cartwheeled over to Suki and asked, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." Ty Lee quickly pulled Suki a short distance and said, "Suki, I don't really think I'm cut out to lead the Kyoshi Warriors."

"Why not?"

"Well, I'm new, and I sort of… well… I don't really know how to lead people."

"Ty Lee, don't worry. You'll do just fine. The others like you and they'll help you out if you need it, okay?"

Ty Lee nodded. "Okay." Suki handed her the headdress that marked her as the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors. "Here. And one more thing- since I'll be gone, you'll have to train Chao for me."

"Chao…?"

"The little kid over there, on the left side." Suki indicated over to him.

"Oh! Okay. So… what should we do today?"

"Just… go with the same thing we did yesterday." She walked to Sokka's side. "Okay, Sokka and I need to get going."

"Okay. Bye Suki! Bye Sokka! See you in a few weeks!" She waved excitedly to them. The others waved and said their goodbyes as well. Suki turned and was about to descend the slope when she felt something cling to her leg. She looked down. "Chao," she said, "please let go of me."

He looked up and shook his head. "Please don't go. You're my master. I need you."

She pushed him away. "Chao, Aang needs us. And we can't keep him waiting. It might be important." He immediately grabbed onto his leg again. "Then take me with you!"

"Chao, please. We'll only be gone for a few weeks. And Ty Lee will be training you, okay?"

He looked up at her, tears rolling down his face. "Please don't leave. You're my master. You're all I have left."

Suki, with some difficulty, lifted up the small boy and pulled him into a tight embrace. "Come on Chao. I won't leave forever. I'll be back, okay?" She put him down. "Now don't make me pick you up like that again. You're too heavy." He wiped away his tears and replied, "Okay master," before returning to the others.

Sokka asked, "So, is that it? Is there anything else we need to do?"

"No, that's all," Suki replied.

He turned away from the dojo, and began to walk down the road back to the village. "So, what next?"

"Well, first, we should find a boat, then ride it for as long as we can so we can get as close to the Wulong Forest as possible."

"Alright, sounds like a plan."


	2. Reunion

Chapter II: Reunion

"Ugh! This is taking forever! How did we ever get around without Appa!?" Sokka exclaimed before he flopped down on his cot.

"Well, look on the bright side, Sokka. We wouldn't have gotten half this far if we'd been walking." Four days had passed since the two had set sail from Kyoshi Island, and it was expected that it would take another two days before they landed in a town that was a reasonable distance from the Wulong Forest. There was silence between the two for several long moments before Sokka said, "I can't believe that was really Chao."

"Yeah, you keep telling me that," Suki replied.

"I know. But I just can't get over it! He's so… different than he was two months ago."

"You keep telling me that, too. And you might have noticed it sooner if you hadn't been travelling back and forth between Kyoshi Island and the South Pole so much."

"Well, they need me over there, okay? And you really should come and see it with me one of these days. It's a lot different from when we visited after the war ended." Sokka and Suki had stopped by the South Pole a few weeks after the war ended, after all the treaties and diplomatic meetings had ended; the Southern Water Tribe had suffered from one last Fire Nation attack before Sozin's Comet, so Sokka and Katara were dropped off to assist with reconstruction. Aang returned Suki to Kyoshi Island a day or two later before returning to assist with the reconstruction as well, and eventually, the Southern Water Tribe was restored, rivaling even the Northern Water Tribe in its magnificence. Sokka would travel to Kyoshi Island as often as he could to visit Suki, but she would always turn down his offers to come back with him to the South Pole.

"I will, eventually." There was another long silence between the two. Eventually, Sokka asked, "So, how are things between you and the recruits? They're not giving you any problems, are they?"

"Things are just fine, Sokka. What, you think I can't handle things by myself?"

"Hey, I never said that, Suki!"

"I'm just teasing Sokka, calm down." She paused. "You know, I've been meaning to ask you this for a while, but how are Aang and the others?" Suki's lie from before had reminded her of her other friends.

"The last I heard, Aang, Toph, and Katara are all trying to deal with those renegade Fire Nation generals holed up in the Earth Kingdom, and Zuko and Mai are having some problems in the Fire Nation they're trying to fix. …That reminds me, I should send a letter to Katara, let her know where we're going." The conversation lulled again. Finally, Suki asked, "Sokka, this might sound like a weird question, but what's the deal with Chao? He's so much younger than everyone else."

Sokka sat up. "It's not really a story I'd like talking about," he said, before telling her Chao's story.

Chao and his father had been some of the first people to come down from the Northern Water Tribe to help rebuild their sister tribe. Master Pakku had said that Chao's mother died when he was three years old from some sudden illness, leaving his father to raise him alone. Chao's father had been a warrior, and had high expectations for his son to follow in his footsteps. But after they had been in the South Pole for a few months, something happened. A small group of Fire Nation soldiers patrolling the area, largely out of boredom than anything else, decided to raid the village. The warriors were able to drive the soldiers away with only one casualty: Chao's father. Afterward, Chao lapsed into a state of depression, becoming extremely timid and withdrawn. He wandered back and forth between the few families that would take him in, until after the war, when Sokka announced that he would be taking a few warriors to train on Kyoshi Island. Chao had been one of the first to volunteer- at first, Sokka refused, in respect to his age, but after hearing what happened from his father and Master Pakku, he decided to take Chao with him.

Some time passed before Suki finally said, "That's awful! I can't imagine what it must be like- to not have anyone there for you, to not have a home…"

"That must be why he's so attached to you- since you're his master, you're the closest thing he has to a family. He probably thinks of you like a big sister."

"Huh… I guess so."

* * *

Two days passed. The ship finally landed in a small port a few miles south of the Wulong Forest; it was as close as they were going to get, since the next port was another thirty miles north of where they landed. As Sokka and Suki walked along the road leading out of the village, Sokka suddenly stopped. Suki stopped as well and asked, "What's wrong Sokka?" But Sokka didn't answer- he was sitting on the ground, digging furiously through his bag. He pulled out a brush and a piece of paper, before hurling his bag at her and rushing off, shouting hurriedly, "I'm sorry there's something I need to take care of I'll be right back!" A few minutes later, he returned, collapsing to his knees as he gasped for breath. "Okay, so, do you mind explaining what just happened?" Suki asked.

"I'm sorry…" Sokka gasped. "I… almost forgot… to write… that letter… to Katara…" Eventually he caught his breath. "I'm sorry for running off like that. I just had to get that done before we head out."

"It's fine Sokka," she replied, tossing Sokka his bag. "We should get going. The Wulong Forest is a big place, and we've got a lot of ground to cover if we're going to find Space Sword."

A few hours passed, and the sun began to sink toward the western horizon. They had finally reached the threshold of the forest. Before them, innumerable stone columns rose from the ground, trees growing from their steep sides. Much of the forest, however, was still scorched black from Fire Lord Ozai's attempt to burn the Earth Kingdom to the ground- it would be some time before the land would ever fully recover. "Wow," Sokka said. "Look at the size of this place!"

"I know," Suki replied. "And if we want to find Space Sword, we have to search this place from top to bottom."

"Well, we might as well get some searching done while we still can," Sokka said, as he began to walk into the forest. "We still have an hour or two before--" Something caught Sokka's foot and he fell flat on his face. Suki rushed over to him and asked, "Are you okay Sokka?" Sokka pushed himself up from the ground. "Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry." He looked back to see what he had tripped over. "It must've just been a root or--" He stopped at once.

There was a small object buried in the dirt. Although it was stained a dark brown, the object was flat, and almost perfectly rounded at the tip- there was no way it could be a mere rock. Sokka wrapped his hand around the thing and wiggled it; it moved, loosening the surrounding dirt. Then, with one tug, he pulled the object from the earth. It was clotted with dirt, and the elements had created a line of rust along the blade, but there was no mistaking that elbow shaped object.

"Oh Boomerang! You really do come back!" Sokka hugged Boomerang against his chest. "Wow, I wasn't expecting that," Suki said. "Maybe this won't take as long as I thought." Sokka wasn't paying attention however, busily brushing off the clods of dirt that had attached to Boomerang. He held it up to inspect it- the metal had been stained an ugly brown, but other than that, and the line of rust along the blade, Boomerang seemed to be in good shape. But just to make sure, Sokka drew back his arm and snapped it out; Boomerang flew through the air, eventually arcing around back to Sokka. Reflexively, he caught it on the non-sharpened section- even after four months without practice, his skill remained just as sharp as ever.

"It still works," Suki said. "So, are we going to keep searching, or…?"

"No," Sokka replied, never taking his eyes off of Boomerang. "I think we've done enough searching for today."

The two set up camp soon after, just before night fell. As the two climbed into their tent, Suki whispered to Sokka, "So, Sokka… since we found Boomerang, how about you and I… _celebrate_?" She spread herself seductively on her sleeping bag, eyeing him hungrily. He gave her a brief glance before climbing into his sleeping bag and replying, "Not tonight Suki. I want to be up early so we can find Space Sword."

Suki was stunned. Sokka never turned her down her advances when she wanted to… _be intimate_ with him. But more importantly, he never wanted to wake up early. _Ever_. So, she crawled over to Sokka, rolled him onto his back, straddled him, forced his eyelid open with her finger and asked him, "Okay, who are you and what have you done with the real Sokka?"

"Suki, it's me, really. I just really want to find Space Sword first, okay? I promise I'll make it up to you."

"Okay, but I'm holding you to that."

* * *

Sokka groaned as he felt the filtered rays of the sun shine on his face. He sat up and stretched, before looking over and saying, "Good morning Suki." Suki groaned and looked up at Sokka, saying "I can't believe you actually woke up before I did."

"Me neither. Oh, and I'm very happy to say, good morning Boomerang." He picked up Boomerang and hugged it to his chest again. He slid it into his bag (he hadn't brought Boomerang's sheath), climbed out of his sleeping bag, and said, "Well, since we're both awake, I think we should get started."

After breakfast, the two set out into the forest. The place was unimaginably massive, and there were so many places that Space Sword could be- stuck in a tree, on top of one of the rock columns, stuck in the side of one of the rock columns, stuck in the ground, obscured by all the trees and rocks… the possibilities were nearly endless. Sokka stopped, hand on his chin, lost in thought. "What's wrong Sokka?" Suki asked.

"I'm just trying to remember where the airship was when I lost Space Sword."

"Well, we should probably start with that burned section over there."

"Alright then." The two headed over to a large blackened section of the forest. The ground below was coated with a fine gray dust that scattered with every step they took; the trees were scorched and cracked from the intense fires created by the firebenders during Sozin's Comet; from time to time, they would come across large metal fragments embedded in trees, stones, and the ground, remnants of the Fire Nation's airship fleet; and the air was filled with the scent of burning- not of burning wood, but seemingly by the very essence of fire itself. But there was something else, something that struck Sokka rather suddenly. The forest had been fairly quiet before, with only the occasional rustling of some animal of the singing of some bird… but here, the silence seemed to press down on him and Suki. "Wow, this is really creepy," she said, clinging onto his arm.

"Tell me about it. Let's just hurry and find Space Sword so we can get out of here." The two began searching through the burned section to find Sokka's Space Sword. Time passed, and the sun slowly began to climb to the top of the sky. But they found nothing. Sometimes, they would come across a glint of metal, or a long, straight object, but these objects were always just branches or airship pieces, never a sword. After a few hours of searching, Sokka, who had been bent over a long metal object, stood up and said, "No, this isn't Space Sword either. It's just a pipe." He looked back at Suki. "I don't know about this, Suki. Shouldn't we have found something by now?" Suki replied, "Hey, don't worry Sokka. This is a big place, and I'm sure if we keep looking, we'll find Space Sword eventually." Her eyes trailed up a tall stone column nearby, squinting when her eyes fell on an object seemingly stuck in a tree growing out of the pillar. "Sokka, look up there." She pointed to the object. Sokka followed Suki's arm up the column, his eyes falling on the object as well

The object embedded in the tree appeared to be a branch at first glance, but with a closer look, Sokka saw that it was far too straight to be a normal branch, and lacked the small green sprouts growing on the other branches, but more notably, the object glinted gold near the top. Without thinking, he approached the column and began to climb; Suki asked, "Sokka, wait, what are you doing?" but Sokka was hardly aware of her. He rapidly climbed up the column, hardly aware of how fast he climbed, or how high, his mind fixated on that mysterious object. Soon he came to the tree. Wrapping his limbs tightly around a thick branch, he reached over, gripped the object's hilt, and pulled; the object slid out with ease. He examined the sword he now held, one that had become incredibly familiar to him, one he had crafted with his own hand. The leather on the grip had been worn away by exposure to the elements, and a piece of the pommel had broken off, but the black blade was in perfect shape, as perfect as the day it had been forged.

Space Sword.

Sokka looked down at the ground and called out, "Suki, get out of the way!" before dropping his sword, blade-down, to the ground- unlike with Boomerang, Sokka had brought Space Sword's sheath, but had left it at the camp. The sword fell to the ground, sinking almost all the way up to the hilt. Suki glanced over at it briefly before looking back up at Sokka. She expected that he would be climbing down, but instead, he was still holding onto the tree. "Sokka! Start climbing down!" she called up to him. What she didn't know was that Sokka had seen just how high he actually was, and was too terrified to move.

"This is a lot higher that I thought!" he called back. "Um… _help!_"

Suki laughed at him, and quickly climbed up to where he was. "Come on Sokka, grab on," she said as she clung to the tree next to him. Slowly, cautiously, he scooted closer to Suki, and stopped.

"Come on Sokka. Climb on."

He shook his head. "Don't make me let go of the tree."

"Fine. Hold still." She slipped under Sokka's arms and legs, positioning herself between the tree and Sokka, and said, "Now grab on." Sokka quickly slipped his arms and legs around Suki's body, holding on tight. Then, Suki began to slowly climb down to the ground. Had the circumstances been different, Sokka would have thoroughly enjoyed having himself pressed against his curvy girlfriend; now, however, he was too terrified of falling to really appreciate anything. After several long minutes, the two finally reached the ground; at once, Sokka let go and flopped down on the ground. "You know, I think I understand how Toph feels whenever we fly anywhere now," he said to Suki.

Suki had wandered away to where Space Sword had landed and pulled it from the ground. "I'm surprised this is such good shape, considering it's been out here for four months." She rested the blade briefly in the palm of her hand, only to cry out and drop it; the brief contact had made a large cut across her palm. "It's still sharp."

Sokka approached, picking up Space Sword. "We should get back to the camp and get that wrapped up. It might get infected." The two began to head back to the camp. As they headed back, Suki began, "So… we managed to find Boomerang and Space Sword. How would you feel about _celebrating_ now?"

"Suki… I think we should wait until we get back to Kyoshi Island."

"Humph! You know, you're not doing a good job of carrying out your… boyfriend-ly duties. I think I'll head off by myself and find Aang after we get home, show him how you're _supposed_ to treat a lady. I'm sure he'd appreciate the stress relief."

"You wouldn't!"

"Oh come on, I was just kidding. But considering everything that's been going on, the kid could use some time to unwind. If it's okay with you, I think I'll go visit him, give him a few pointers, maybe even let him get some hands-on--"

"_Stop it!_ Just… _stop!_ I don't need to think about Aang doing… _that_, okay?" Back when he, Aang, Katara, and Toph had still been together at the South Pole, Sokka had gone out of his way to make sure there was no funny business between Aang and Katara- they weren't allowed to be alone in the same room, or alone anywhere that wasn't in Sokka's direct line of sight, and as long as he was with them (which was almost always) they weren't allowed to kiss, and any hugs couldn't last longer than two seconds. For the times he went to visit Suki, he enlisted Toph to watch over them. The others protested vehemently about the arrangement- Aang, Katara, and even Toph (who otherwise avoided squabbles between the two siblings, complaining mostly because she'd been sucked into it unwillingly), but Sokka was determined. Aang might have been the Avatar, but that wouldn't save him if Sokka ever found out he'd taken Katara's innocence.

But after Master Pakku and his dad convinced Suki to train the Water Tribe warriors, he had to travel to Kyoshi Island to watch over their progress. Toph was supposed to be watching them, but knowing her, she wouldn't care either way; without anyone watching, they were probably pawing all over each other at this very moment, doing Spirits-only-knew-what. The mere thought made his stomach churn.

"I know what you're going to say- Aang's a nice kid and I should trust him more. But I've always looked out for Katara. And I don't--"

Sokka stopped when he noticed something unusual- smoke was curling up in the air ahead, where he and Suki had set up camp. He hurried ahead, with Suki alongside him, when they returned to the edge of their camp. Their campfire had been lit, a pot of tea settled over the fire, but Sokka's attention was focused there for only a moment. Someone was already there, sitting on a log, waiting for them- he looked up when he heard them approach. Neither Sokka nor Suki had seen this person since the invasion.

"It's good to see you again, Sokka," Master Piandao said.


	3. Induction

Chapter III: Induction

Sokka bowed to his former master and said, "It's good to see you too, Master Piandao."

Piandao bowed in return. "I see you have your friend Suki with you."

"It's nice to see you again, Mr. Piandao," Suki replied, bowing.

Sokka sat down on the ground in front of the log. "So, what brings you all the way out here, Master?"

"Actually Sokka, I've been following you two. Do you remember that Pai Sho tile I gave you after we met in the Fire Nation?" Sokka dug around in his pockets for several moments before pulling out the tile, a small, round clay piece with a white lotus painted on its surface. "That tile is a mark of sorts. It means your talent has been recognized by a member of the Order of the White Lotus." He paused for a moment before asking, "Perhaps you would like some tea before I continue?"

"Um… sure. Suki?"

"I guess I'll take some tea, too."

Piandao took the pot from over the fire, and poured some tea into two small tin cups, handing them to both warriors. He then poured himself a cup. Once he finished, he resumed speaking. "I've heard a lot of good things about you as well, Suki," he said, "so I spoke with Master Pakku and the other Grand Masters, and they've agreed to mark you as a potential member like Sokka."

Suki took a sip from her tea before replying, "That's… I'm… not sure what to say."

Sokka, who had already downed his cup of tea, said to her, "Are you kidding? That's great news Suki! That means you and I could be handling super secret assignments for the Order of the White Lotus!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Sokka," Piandao interjected. "You won't be handling anything like that right away. It just means that we'll keep you in mind if we ever need recruits."

"Oh." Sokka yawned, and shook his head; for some reason, he was becoming very sleepy. "Well, if that's all you came to tell us, why didn't you just send a letter?" Piandao didn't answer. Now, Sokka was having a very difficult time just keeping his eyes open, but he noticed something a bit odd. "Master, you didn't drink any of your tea." Again, Piandao didn't respond. Sokka wobbled. "Whoa… everything… tastes… _pink_…" He pitched forward on his face, and lay on the ground, motionless. Suki dropped her cup and hurried over to Sokka's side, no easy feat with the exhaustion that had suddenly settled over her. "Sokka! Are you okay!? What happened!?" He didn't respond; she shot a glare over at Piandao. "You… _what did you do to_… what did you… wha…?" She wobbled and collapsed on top of Sokka, asleep.

* * *

Sokka awoke with a start. First, he noticed that everything was dark. Second, he noticed that his arms were pinned behind his back, and he couldn't separate them. Third, he noticed that there was something leaning against his shoulder. He struggled, trying to free his arms to no avail; the thing leaning his shoulder stirred, and he heard Suki's voice ask, "Huh? What's going on? I can't move!"

Sokka wiggled his shoulder. "Suki? Is that you?"

"Sokka? I'm glad you're here. Where are we?"

"I'm not sure." He paused for a moment, trying to get a feel for his surroundings- from the way everything rocked slightly, he guessed they were in some sort of wagon.

Just then, another voice spoke. "I see that you two are awake," Piandao said.

"Master Piandao?" Sokka asked. "What's going on? Why are we tied up?"

Piandao replied, "After the Order of the White Lotus liberated Ba Sing Se, our secret society wasn't much of a secret anymore. So, the Grand Masters and I have decided to help the Avatar in his mission to rebuild the world. But to do this, we need recruits- people who have extraordinary and outstanding abilities. People like you two."

"Okay, but that doesn't really explain why we're tied up," Suki replied.

"I'm taking you to a White Lotus safehouse. There, you'll be officially inducted into the Order of the White Lotus and receive your first assignments. To keep the location of the safehouse secure, I blindfolded you and tied your hands and feet."

Everything suddenly lurched forward, and there was the strange low grunt of an ostrich-horse. "We're here," Piandao said; there was a rustling, the sound of footsteps, and a creak somewhere behind the two. At once, Suki's body was pulled from his shoulders, and Piandao commanded, "Hold still Suki, I'm going to cut you loose." A few moments passed, then Sokka felt a hand grab his shoulder and pull him across the wagon floor. Piandao said to him, "Your turn, Sokka. Hold still." The ropes around Sokka's wrists tightened for a moment as something was pressed against them before suddenly falling away. Immediately, he pulled the blindfold away. First, he saw Suki, busily untying the ropes around her ankles, then Piandao standing by the rear of the wagon, before finally spotting a building a short distance away. Sokka began to untie himself as well before climbing out of the wagon.

"Is that the safehouse?" Sokka asked. "It looks like a cheap inn." The once-white paint of the building was cracking in numerous places, and the plants surrounding it were wild and overgrown. If this place had an owner, they weren't doing a very good job of taking care of it.

Suki looked around for a few moments before saying, "Wait, I recognize this place! We passed through here on way to the Wulong Forest!" At this, Sokka turned to Piandao and asked, "So you're telling me you drugged us, tied us up, and threw us in the back of a wagon, just to take us to a place we've already seen?"

"Everything will explained in due time, Sokka." He began to walk toward the inn; Sokka and Suki fell in behind him. Piandao entered the building- at once, Sokka and Suki saw that everything inside was covered with dust and spider-fly cobwebs, everything… except for a small space on the floor between the back door and another door a few feet down the hall. Piandao opened the door; beyond was a small stairwell that descended into the darkness. He motioned for them to descend, saying, "Watch your step." Following his orders, Sokka and Suki began to descend the stairs- after a few feet, the door swung closed, plunging the stairwell into darkness. Slowly, cautiously, the three began to descend the staircase. Sokka couldn't help but worry- he and Suki were being taken into a dark basement in an abandoned building, and potentially anything could happen.

Finally they reached the stairs' landing. Before they could proceed, however, Piandao placed his hand on both Sokka's and Suki's shoulders and said, "Before you go any farther, you need to put your blindfolds back on."

"Why?"

"It's an important part of the ceremony, Sokka. Now please, put your blindfold on." Begrudgingly, Sokka pulled the small strip of cloth from his pocket and tied it over his eyes, Suki doing the same. They heard Piandao's footsteps move away from them, and they began to follow again, slowly, so as not to trip over anything. "This is stupid," Sokka mumbled, earning himself an elbow in the ribs from Suki. After several moments, Piandao told them, "Stop." There was a knock, and a familiar, if slightly muffled voice asked, "Who knocks at the guarded gate?"

"One who has eaten the fruit, and tasted its mysteries," Piandao replied.

A creak sounded, and the voice said, "Piandao. And I see you've brought the recruits."

Unless he was very mistaken, Sokka recognized the voice, and asked, "Master Pakku? Is that you?"

"I thought you were supposed to be overseeing the training of our warriors, Sokka," Pakku replied. "But, yes, it's me. Piandao asked me to be a witness for your initiation." Sokka then felt someone take his shoulder, and push him lightly inside, Suki alongside him. As they walked, Piandao's voice said, in a low voice, "Alright, if you accept the invitation to the Order of White Lotus, all you have to do is say that you accept, and recite our oath." Piandao's hands suddenly lifted from Sokka's and Suki's shoulders.

Almost at once, another familiar voice began to speak, saying, "My brothers, on this day, we prepare to welcome a new brother and a new sister into our ranks. Before us stands our brother, Sokka of the Water Tribe, son of Hakoda. Before us stands our sister, Suki of Kyoshi Island, leader of the Kyoshi Warriors."

The old man's voice was nearly unmistakable- there was no doubt that it was Iroh. But as Sokka began to open his mouth, Pakku said immediately, "No talking, Sokka." Sokka immediately snapped his mouth shut.

Iroh continued. "Sokka of the Water Tribe, Suki of the Kyoshi Warriors, your talents have brought the attention of the Order of the White Lotus, and we believe that your talents can aid us in our mission to restore the balance of this world. We extend an invitation to you, to join us in our mission. Sokka of the Water Tribe, do you accept our invitation?"

Sokka hesitated to reply, and briefly considered saying, "No." Sokka had always felt as though he was overshadowed by his younger sibling, and later on his other companions, because they were benders and he wasn't; as much as he was ashamed to admit it, even to himself, more than once had he considered leaving his friends to go back to the South Pole. Compared to his friends, he felt so… _powerless_; they were just so great, and so special, and they could do all this amazing bending, and he… couldn't. He might have been the idea guy in the group, but he could never really help his friends in a fight. And if he couldn't help them, what good was he? He didn't deserve to be a part of that, he wasn't worthy of standing alongside them.

But, Piandao had seen something in him, something that made him worthy, even though he was nothing more than a Southern Water Tribe peasant who couldn't bend. And now, the Order of the White Lotus had told him that he had talents that could be used to change the world, talents that had nothing to do with bending. If he really had some talent, maybe the White Lotus could help to draw it out; it would be to his own disadvantage if he didn't. And besides, they went through all this trouble to find him. So, Sokka answered, "I accept your invitation."

"Suki, of the Kyoshi Warriors, do you accept our invitation?"

Suki took almost no time answering. "I do."

"By accepting our invitation, you have done the world an immeasurable service. But, before you can be fully initiated into our society, you must recite our oath. Place your right hand over your heart." Sokka and Suki placed their right hands over their hearts. "Now, repeat what I say, exactly as I say it." There was a short pause before he continued. "We are the White Lotus."

"**We are the White Lotus.**" Sokka and Suki nearly jumped in surprise from the multitude of voices that spoke along with their own. They had severely underestimated the number of people with them, wherever they were, much less expecting them to recite the oath as well.

"We are the foundation upon which this world has established itself."

"**We are the foundation upon which this world has established itself.**"

"We are the roots that sustain the great tree of peace in this world."

"**We are the roots that sustain the great tree of peace in this world.**"

"We are the sword that cuts down any who would threaten this great tree."

"**We are the sword that cuts down any who would threaten this great tree.**"

"We are constrained by no law; we are deterred by no obstacle. We shall never waver in our mission."

"**We are constrained by no law; we are deterred by no obstacle. We shall never waver in our mission.**"

"We are the White Lotus. We work in the darkness to uphold the light."

"**We are the White Lotus. We work in the darkness to uphold the light.**"

A profound silence soon settled. Several moments passed before Iroh finally asked, "Sokka of the Water Tribe, do you swear to uphold this oath, even to your dying breath?"

There was only a moment's pause before Sokka replied, "I swear to uphold this oath… even to my dying breath."

"Suki of the Kyoshi Warriors, do you swear to uphold this oath, even to your dying breath?"

As before, Suki did not hesitate in the slightest: "I swear to uphold this oath, even to my dying breath."

"Sokka of the Water Tribe, Suki of the Kyoshi Warriors, by swearing to lay down your life in the name of our oath, I, Grand Lotus Iroh, formally admit you into the Order of the White Lotus. Welcome, Brother Sokka. Welcome, Sister Suki. The white lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets." Iroh's tone then changed from a serious one to his familiar friendly one. "Take off your blindfolds. You deserve to see your new comrades." Sokka and Suki pulled off their blindfolds; at once, they saw that they were in a massive cavern carved from stone, illuminated by a handful of torches. With them were about a dozen or so others, Iroh, Pakku, and Piandao included, encircling them. After a moment, Piandao stepped out of the circle. "Forgive me, Iroh, but I must be going," he said. "I need to resume searching for potential candidates. I've heard rumors that someone who had trained a Shirshu is travelling through the Earth Kingdom. We could use someone like that."

"I see," Iroh replied. "Go well, Piandao."

"Stay well, Iroh. And stay well, Sokka." He disappeared down a hallway branching off the chamber. After a few moments, Pakku broke away as well. "I must be going as well. I need to return to the South Pole. Stay well, Iroh. And it was good to see you again Sokka, Suki." He followed Piandao, and eventually disappeared as well. A few of the others followed them, the rest gathering together to discuss some unknown subject. Iroh approached them, and said, "Now that you're official agents of the Order of the White Lotus, it's time you received your first assignment." From within his robe, he pulled a small scroll and handed it to Sokka. Sokka looked down at it in anticipation. What sort of assignment would he and Suki receive? Would they be infiltrating some a Fire Nation Outcast stronghold? Assassinating a power-hungry Earth Kingdom general? Protecting some important noble family? It was too much to take- Sokka tore open the scroll and rapidly read its contents.

His heart sank immediately.

Suki leaned over to read the scroll as well. "Survival training? At the South Pole? For two months?"

"…Is this some kind of joke?" Sokka asked.

Iroh replied, "This is an assignment all new recruits are given. I had to survive on a deserted island in the Fire Nation for two months for my first assignment as well. But I'm sure that a trained Water Tribe warrior will have no trouble surviving at the South Pole for two months."

A few moments passed. "Alright," Sokka replied. "I guess this isn't too bad."


	4. Isolation

Chapter IV: Isolation

Sokka sneezed. "Ungh…" he groaned, shivering in his sleeping bag. Suki pressed her hand against his forehead, and said, "Your fever still hasn't gone down, Sokka. We need to do something before it gets any worse." She stood up. "I need to go out. I'm taking Space Sword with me. I'll be right back." She reached over, grabbing a small strip of cloth and a heavy parka; she tied the strip over her nose and mouth, and pulled the parka on over her head. She grabbed Space Sword as well, and put up her hood before leaving the tent. She didn't have to go far; with Space Sword, she cut a large chunk out of the ice that had accumulated near the entrance of the cave, and returned to the tent. Once inside, she removed her parka, wrapped the ice chunk in a piece of cloth, and placed it on Sokka's forehead. He let out a relieved sigh. "_Oh_… that feels a lot better."

"You should try and get some rest, Sokka. It'll help your fever go down." Sokka must have been too tired to protest, since he closed his eyes, and his breathing slowed to a steady pace. He was asleep, with Suki watching over him.

It had been two weeks since the two had begun their survival training at the South Pole. Master Pakku had dropped them on a coast dozens of miles from the Southern Water Tribe with little more than a large tent, two parkas, some firewood, a pair of spark rocks, and a few days' worth of food. They were completely alone; their survival over the next two months would depend entirely upon their own skills. Fortunately, the two were able to find a cave within walking distance of the ocean and set up camp there. Every day, Sokka would go to the beach to fish, while Suki would head out across the tundra, searching for anything that could be used to light their campfire. The weather had been overcast, but without any signs of a storm. Suki had been fortunate enough to find a ship buried in the ice- it would provide plenty of fuel for their fire. And Sokka had been able to catch plenty of fish as well; with all the ice, preserving them posed little difficulty, and their supply would last for quite some time.

In short, things had been going perfectly.

But all of that had changed two days prior. A sudden blizzard had come on, but Sokka, against Suki's protests, had gone out on his usual routine to fish. He returned early after the storm worsened, in very bad shape. The next morning, Sokka had come down with a fever- again, despite Suki's protests, he had attempted to go out fishing. He never made it outside the cave- he collapsed, weak and on the verge of unconsciousness, just inside the entrance. Suki carried him back to the tent and placed him in his sleeping bag; he slept for the entire day, Suki watching over him. He'd awoken that morning, but he'd been too weak to climb out of his sleeping bag. The blizzard had let up slightly, but was still going strong- it would be a while before it let up entirely. All she could do now was wait by Sokka's side and hope he got better.

Suki was snapped out of her dozing when she heard somebody… laughing? It was Sokka, chuckling to himself in his sleeping bag. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"You know… you know what I love most about Appa? His sense of humor." He made a poor imitation of one of the sky bison's grunts and laughed to himself. "Hahaha, classic Appa."

Suki moved herself closer to where Sokka was laying. "Is that right?" This couldn't be good. Sokka was delirious, which meant that his condition could only be worsening. She hurried out of the tent, grabbing Space Sword, not even bothering to put on her parka. She rushed to the cave entrance, cut out a large chunk of ice, and rushed back to Sokka. As before, she wrapped the chunk of ice in cloth and placed it on Sokka's forehead. He let out a deep sigh and said to her, "Thank you. You know… you're really, um… nice."

"Thank you, Sokka."

"Hey, my name's not Sokka! It's… um… oh yeah, it is Sokka."

"Well, I'm glad we have that settled." Suki figured that somehow, she had to get him to rest; maybe, if they kept talking, it would help to lull him to sleep. The perfect opportunity presented itself when Sokka asked, "Can you tell me a story, Sato?"

"It's Suki. But yeah, I can tell you a story. What story do you want to hear?"

"Well, can you tell me about Choy?"

"Do you mean _Chao_?"

"Yeah, him."

"Okay. Do you remember when Chao and I first met?"

"Yeah! You and Chao were… okay, I don't remember."

Suki sighed. She made herself comfortable, and began to tell her story.

* * *

"_Alright, everybody line up!" The Water Tribe warriors quickly formed a line, standing shoulder to shoulder; after Suki's display the day before, nobody was willing to do anything that might be interpreted as disrespect. Once the warriors were in position, Suki then said, "Okay, as I told all you before, I'll be pairing each of you with a Kyoshi Warrior. And I'll remind you right now: if I hear that any of you are giving my girls any problems, you'll be dealing with me." She looked back over her shoulder and called to the Kyoshi Warriors behind her, "Ai, can you come over here?" The one named Ai did as Suki asked, and stood next to her commander; Suki stared hard at the line of Water Tribe warrior for several long moments,, before pointing to one and saying, "You. You and Ai will be paired up."_

_Suki continued, calling out each Kyoshi Warrior one at a time and pairing them with one of the Water Tribe trainees, until everyone had been paired off. "Okay, now all of you, head inside. I'll be right inside so we can begin today's training." The others filed into the dojo as Suki watched them. Eventually, Sokka asked, "So, you think you'll be having any more problems?"_

_Suki looked back at him. "I don't think so. Now we should get inside; you have to watch these guys too, you know."_

"_Of course. But I knew--" Sokka suddenly stopped when he felt something tug his leg. He looked down; a small boy holding onto his leg. He was short, barely reaching up to Sokka's waist, and couldn't possibly have been any older than seven years old. "Huh, I guess we overlooked this one." He looked over at Suki. "Are there any other Kyoshi Warriors we can pair him with?"_

"_No, everyone's taken… except me. I guess that means I'll train him"_

"_Okay then, you heard Suki, she'll train you." The boy continued to cling to Sokka's leg. "Come on, let go of me, kid." Sokka tried to push the boy off of his leg._

_Suki approached the two. "Let me handle this Sokka." She bent down on one knee, to be eye-to-eye with the boy. "Hey. What's your name?" The boy peeked out from behind Sokka's leg for a moment before hiding himself behind it._

"_Come on, tell me your name." He buried his face in Sokka's pant leg._

"_If I tell you my name, will you tell me yours? My name is Suki." At this, the boy peeked out at Suki for a moment before hiding his face again. He mumbled something._

"_What? What did you say?" The boy said a little louder, in a muffled voice, "…Chao."_

"_Okay then Chao, why don't you let go of Sokka and come over here?" Chao didn't budge. Suki reached out to Chao, but he immediately drew back. "Come on, I won't hurt you." Still, he wouldn't budge, and stared fearfully at Suki from behind Sokka's leg. She gave him a warm smile, but still, Chao remained firmly attached to Sokka. "You don't have to be afraid, Chao." She brought her sleeve up to her face, and wiped off her war paint. "See? Nothing to be afraid of." She held out her hand again and smiled encouragingly at Chao. Finally, he pulled his face away from Sokka's leg._

_Chao hadn't known this girl for very long. But the way she smiled at him, the way she held out her arm encouragingly to him, helped put him at ease. Slowly, Chao began to reach for the strange girl with the kind smile. His hand wrapped around her fingers; he looked, amazed at how much larger it was compared to his own._

"_There. Was that so hard?" the girl asked. Chao shook his head. Suki tugged his hand. "Come on Chao. We should get inside." Slowly, he let go of Sokka, and replied in a small voice "…o-okay…" before Suki led him to the dojo, Sokka following them.

* * *

_

Suki stopped her story and looked down at Sokka; he'd rolled onto his side, his back turned toward her, fast asleep. She reached down and pressed her hand against his forehead. His fever had gone down… a little. But not enough for him to be up and about. Quietly, she pulled her sleeping bag over to where she was sitting and climbed inside, positioning herself right next to Sokka. She knew she should be staying awake, to watch over Sokka in case his condition worsened, but she hadn't slept in nearly two days. At least this way, she would be right there if Sokka needed her. So, she settled next to him, and fell into a deep sleep.

Suki awoke some time later. She was sure it was the next morning, but without actually going outside the cave, it was impossible to be sure. She sat up and reached over to feel Sokka's forehead. Almost at once, she noticed his fever had gone down considerably- there was still a trace of it, but he wasn't burning up as he had been the day before. Sokka groaned in his sleep, trying to shake Suki's hand off, and mumbled, "Just give me a few more minutes, Katara."

"Good morning to you too, Sokka," Suki replied. "So, how are you feeling?"

He sat up slowly. "Actually, I feel a lot better." He then said in a low voice, "And I didn't have to suck on any frogs, either."

"What was that?"

"Uh… nothing."

"Well, I think you should take it easy for a little while. You were really sick yesterday."

"If you say so." Sokka paused for a few moments before saying, "It sounds like the blizzard's still going." Suki had grown accustomed to the howling winds of the blizzard outside the cave, but Sokka's mention of it suddenly brought her attention to it. Suki asked, "How long do you think it will last?"

"I'm not sure. But since it's technically summer here in the South Pole, it should be over a few days- a week at the most."

* * *

"Hey Sokka?"

"What is it Suki?"

"What do you think the others are doing right now?"

"Who knows? Maybe they're caught in a snowstorm too." He added mentally, _Toph, you had better be watching those two_.

Suki must have already figured out what Sokka was thinking, because she said, "Sokka, don't look so worried. Aang and Katara… well, they're very mature for their age. And I think both will want to take this slowly."

"Suki… Katara's my sister. You wouldn't understand what I'm going through unless you had a younger sibling."

"Sokka, you're acting like this is the worst thing that could've ever happened to her. Aang isn't like Jet, you know."

He sighed. "…I know." He looked over at her. "Wait, how do you know about Jet?"

"Well, when someone tells me a story, I actually listen to them, unlike certain people I could name."

"It just… them, doing… _you know_…"

"Have you ever thought she might feel the same way whenever she thinks about you and me?"

Sokka was silent for several moments before replying, "Alright, alright. But if ever catch Aang doing… you know… I'll kick his ass."

Suki did her very best to stifle a laugh. "I'm sure you will."

* * *

Five days after it had started, the blizzard finally died down enough for the two to venture outside the cave. The storm's end was a blessing- they had begun to run dangerously low on firewood. Had the storm continued for any longer, they would either have had to risk freezing to death to find more, or wait in the cave for the inevitable. Sokka and Suki resumed their established routine- Sokka would fish, while Suki gathered firewood, occasionally switching duties to break up the monotony of their assignment. Hours began to melt into days, then weeks. Every day, the sun would stay out just a little bit longer; after a few weeks, it simply circled around in the sky, touching the horizon but never actually setting. Sokka lost count of how long they were there somewhere around the halfway mark, resolving that he and Suki would know their assignment was over when Master Pakku came back to find them.

One day, a few days into the second month, Suki asked Sokka, "Is this what it's like to live in the South Pole? How can you live like this? Don't you ever get bored?"

Sokka replied, "Believe it or not, this is the good part of the year. Six months from now, in summer, the sun never comes up. But it isn't nearly as bad as this. It's a lot easier when there're other people there to divide up the work. And you're usually so focused on just trying to survive that you don't have time to be bored."

"It seems like it would be hard living in a place like this."

"It isn't that bad. You get used to it eventually. And things have gotten a lot easier since the war ended."

There was a brief pause. "Sokka?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think our next assignment will be?"

"I don't know. But I hope it's something better than this." He paused briefly. "Aw, I shouldn't have said that! Now, we'll get stuck doing something dumb."

"Lighten up, Sokka. You wouldn't believe what I had to go though when I first joined up with the Kyoshi Warriors. And _don't_ ask me about it- let's just say I did some things I'm not proud of."

* * *

The days passed. On some days the sky was clear, on others it was overcast; on some days strong winds blew, on others no winds blew at all; but Sokka and Suki never encountered another storm during the rest of their mission at the South Pole. Sokka and Suki would arise each morning like clockwork to carry out their agreed assignments. They had long since lost count of the days since they'd arrived, so it came as quite a surprise when one morning, the two left their tent to find Master Pakku waiting for them.

"Sokka, I see you and Suki are still in one piece," he said.

"More or less," Sokka replied. "So, does that mean our assignment is over?"

"Indeed. But that isn't the only reason why I'm here. You two have been given a new assignment."

"What is it?" Suki asked.

"It seems that since the war ended, travelers passing through the Foggy Swamp have been going missing. We want you two to go out there and find out why." He pulled a scroll from the inside of his parka and handed it to Sokka. "All the information you need regarding this assignment is in that scroll." Pakku turned toward the entrance of the cave. "But you'll have time to read that later. We need to be going now. Grand Master Iroh wants you two to resolve this situation as soon as possible."


	5. Expedition

Chapter V: Expedition

Three weeks passed. Pakku had sailed up the Earth Kingdom coast for two and a half weeks, before dropping Sokka and Suki at a port a few days away from the Foggy Swamp. It was the closest stop- the next one was where the two had disembarked to reach the Wulong Forest. The remaining days were spent travelling to the swamp itself, the air becoming heavy with humidity. At the three week mark, Sokka and Suki arrived in a small village at the very edge of the swamp. The small thatch roof huts of the village were built on wooden walkways, suspended a few feet above the stagnant waters of the swamp. Sokka and Suki drew attention from the locals as they entered the village; apparently, they were the only travelers to visit in some time.

"So, we're here," Suki asked. "Now what?"

"I guess we ask around, see if anyone knows anything." But just then, from off to the side, a voice asked, "Sokka? Is that you?" The two looked. To their left stood a stout man, with dark hair, brown skin, and a row of leaves tied around his waist. Something about this man was very familiar to Sokka, but he couldn't quite place it until a name finally jumped to his mind.

"Why Sokka, it is you!" Huu said excitedly, walking over to the two. "And I see that you have a lady friend, too."

"Suki, this is Huu," Sokka said. "Me, Katara, and Aang met him while we were trying to find Aang an earthbending teacher." Suki bowed to the stout man. "It's very nice to meet you, Huu."

"Likewise, miss. So Sokka, what brings you all the way out here? I though you'd be with the Avatar."

"Suki and I are here on business for the Order of the White Lotus. They heard that people have been disappearing in the swamp, and they sent us to find out why."

The smile rapidly disappeared from Huu's face. "Well, a lot of people've been disappearing in the west side of the swamp- I ain't gonna lie about that. My guess is that a mammoth python dug itself a nest somewhere on the trail, and is eating anyone who gets too close." He shook his head. "But we can worry about that later."

"What? Worry about that later! This is serious! The Order of the White Lotus wants us to take care of this as soon as possible!"

"I can tell that you two have been traveling for a while. You told me that this Order of the White Lotus sent you, and I'm not gonna try to stop you two, but you need to get some rest, at least for today. I'll take you out tomorrow."

* * *

Sokka and Suki awoke the next morning. They emerged from the small hut Huu had let them borrow- the day before, he mentioned he had huts like this in all the villages of the swamp, since he travelled between them so often. Outside, Huu was already waiting for them. "Good morning Sokka, good morning Suki," he said cheerfully. "You two are looking better already." He began to walk down one of the village walkways. "Well, no use standing around. We should get going- you said yourself that you wanted to finish this as soon as possible." Sokka and Suki followed him to a small dock at the end of the village, where a boat waited for them. Two people were waiting for them already- a tall, lean man, and a shorter, stout man. The stout man looked up and said, "Well looky here! Sokka came back to visit!" The tall man looked over as well and said, "And he brought a lady friend too! She sure is purdy. Don't you think so, Tho?"

"Come on Du, cut that out."

"Alright, I'm just bein' friendly, is all."

"Come on fellas," Huu interjected, "we gotta get going. Move over so they can get on." Tho and Du obliged, shifting over to offer Sokka and Suki room. Sokka and Suki took their places, before Huu stepped on the boat, taking his seat near the bow. Once he was seated, Du stood up, moved to the rear of the boat, and began swinging his arms in large, wide circles; at once, the water at the back of the boat swelled, and began to spin in response. The spinning water pushed the boat forward, and soon, the boat was speeding across the still water.

A half hour passed as the boat sped through the swamp. The five had remained silent for most of the trip, until Sokka eventually asked, "Hey Huu, since you said you know why people have been disappearing, why haven't you gone out to take care of it yourself?"

Huu replied, "Well Sokka, mammoth pythons are nasty critters, as long as a tree is tall and just as wide around the middle. But they're territorial- if we don't bother them, they won't bother us. And we tell people not to go through the west side of the swamp, but some just don't listen." He fell silent. A few moments passed before Du asked, "Do you know what 'suck the heads' means? 'Cause I went to one of the eastern villages with my buddy Ren once, and he didn't know, and-- well I mean it ain't nothing bad. It's about eatin'."

"Du, now isn't really the best time," Tho said.

"Okay. I'm just tryin' to make conversation."

Eventually, Du steered the boat alongside a small wooden walkway suspended a few feet above the water. As the boat came to a stop, Huu told Sokka and Suki, "This is as close as we can take you to where people've been disappearing- you'll have to walk the rest of the way. Just follow this path, and if you find dry land, you're going the right way." Sokka climbed out of the boat first, before helping Suki onto the walkway. "Thanks for everything, Huu," Sokka said. "And it was nice to see you again."

"Don't mention it Sokka. Now you two take care of yourselves." The boat pulled away from the wooden walkway and began to speed away. "It was nice to see those guys again," Sokka said after a few moments of silence. "We should get going." Sokka began to walk down the walkway, with Suki following- the walkway was too narrow for them to walk alongside each other. They walked for some time in silence, before Suki asked, "Hey Sokka, what do you think these 'mammoth pythons' are like?"

"Who knows? Huu says they're big, so there's that. Maybe they have tusks or something like that. But you know, when Aang, Katara, and I were here, nobody ever mentioned anything about mammoth pythons."

"Maybe they didn't want to scare you. Or maybe they weren't as big of a problem back then."

The two followed the walkway for some time- they eventually reached solid ground, after the small patches of sky visible through the canopy of trees had turned from blue to orange. Once they stepped off the walkway, Sokka said, "I guess we should stop here for the night. It's getting late."

"Are you sure?" Suki asked. I think we can get a little bit more walking done."

"I don't think so, Suki. We should set up camp now and wait until morning. It isn't a good idea to be wandering around here after dark, at all. Just trust me on this one."

Night fell. Sokka and Suki set up camp- the two had forgotten to bring their tent from Master Pakku's boat, so they had to take shelter near a large, hollowed-out log. Suki was fast asleep, nestled in her sleeping bag at the base of the log. Sokka was still awake, stoking the small campfire he had lit. In a few hours, he would wake Suki, and he would get some sleep as Suki kept watch.

Back when he and the others had still been travelling together, they relied mainly on Toph to be their early warning if Fire Nation soldiers were coming. But during their time in the Fire Nation, and especially after their first encounter with Combustion Man, the group had made an unspoken agreement to keep watch in shifts when they camped out- two of them would stay awake while the other two kept watch. After a few hours, one would wake up one of the sleepers- the sleeper would take their shift keeping watch, while the old sentry got some sleep. It had worked well between the four of them, continuing until they finally reached the rendezvous point. The system would be far less efficient between only two people, but it was the best Sokka and Suki could hope for.

Sokka sat near the fire, staring into the flames. The swamp was incredibly noisy, the calls of crickets and who-knew-what-else emerging from the darkness, completely surrounding the small camp- Sokka vaguely wondered how Suki could possibly sleep with all the noise. He pulled Space Sword from its makeshift sheath, and gripped it tightly- he knew he was being slightly paranoid, but considering what had happened the last time he was here, his paranoia wasn't completely unjustified.

At that moment, something very odd happened. The swamp fell silent. Ordinarily, Sokka would have considered the silence a blessing, but he found its sudden onset more than slightly disturbing. He'd spent enough time travelling to know that the sudden silence meant one of two things: either a very large, very dangerous predator was nearby, or there were spirits at work. Sokka rose to his feet, holding Space Sword in front of him; he didn't know very much about these mammoth pythons, but if solid steel couldn't stand up against Space Sword, he doubted a snake could, no matter how big it was.

However, Sokka was not expecting what happened next. From somewhere in the darkness, he could hear… _crying_. Sokka's grip on Space Sword tightened to a painful degree as the sobbing grew louder. Finally, a voice asked, "Why?" Sokka began to tremble violently, in spite of himself. The voice continued, "You promised to protect me. You said you would protect me!" The voice was familiar, very familiar, even though it had been over a year since he had last heard it.

Yue.

She appeared before Sokka, just outside the light of the campfire, glowing in an unearthly white light, her expression completely flat and unreadable. Suddenly, the campfire went out. The air, which had been almost uncomfortably warm just seconds before, became deathly cold. "You didn't protect me." Yue began to slowly walk toward Sokka; with every step, the ground beneath her feet became encased in a solid sheet of ice. "You said you would protect me. You lied." Now, she was only a few feet away; Sokka was paralyzed, too terrified to move away. "I'm dead because of you." Her hand rested on his shoulder; he tried to pull away, but his body felt as though it were frozen solid. Yue drew her hand back. "You lied. And now, you are going to suffer the same way I suffered." Without ever changing her expression, she thrust her arm forward at blinding speed, burying it deep in Sokka's chest.

Sokka awoke with a start. His heart pounded painfully in his chest, his breathing shallow. He forced himself to take several deep breaths, and gradually, his heart rate slowed. He must have dozed off at some point; Sokka found himself still gripping Space Sword, and the campfire had gone out, making the surrounding air surprisingly cold. He sheathed Space Sword and dug in his pockets, trying to find his spark rocks. He found them, and crouched over the burned out fire, striking the two stones together; it was no easy feat, as his hands were still trembling furiously. But eventually, he reignited the fire and huddled close to it, surrounded by the sounds of the swamp. He remained there until he woke Suki and they traded shifts. But sleep would not come to Sokka as he lay in his sleeping bag. He scarcely slept that night, afraid of what else may be waiting for him in his dreams.

Mercifully, the light of dawn broke through the jungle canopy. Suki stood up from the burned out fire and walked over to Sokka's sleeping bag, but as she reached down to tap him on the shoulder, he said, "I'm awake. …I couldn't sleep." As he climbed out of his sleeping bag, Suki asked, "Why? What happened?"

"Well, while I was on watch, I kind of dozed off and… I had a nightmare."

"Oh. Well next time, I think I'll take the first watch and keep those nightmares away from you. Does that sound good?"

Sokka couldn't help but smile. It was several moments before he added, "Oh wait. Before we head out, I need to ask you something- did you bring any weapons with you?" Suki reached down and pulled up her pant leg, exposing a long slender object strapped to her ankle. She unsheathed it, revealing a blade several inches long. "Well, I always carry this tanto around," she replied.

"Do you have anything else?"

"I didn't think to bring anything."

"Well, you should take this then." Sokka reached down to his bag and handed Suki his machete and its sheath. "We might run into something, so we should be ready." Sokka began to roll up his sleeping bag. "When we're done with this mission, do you think Master Pakku or whoever will be meeting us will let us go back to Kyoshi Island so you can get your stuff?"

"I hope so. I'm regretting that this is all I have." Suki sheathed her knife, before removing it and strapping it around her belt. "You ready to go?"

Sokka finished tying his sleeping bag to his pack. "Yeah. We should get going."

* * *

An hour or so passed. Sokka and Suki continued to walk north, away from the wooden walkway they had been dropped off at. After some time, the two had come across a narrow trail, and decided to follow it. Although the trail was eerily deserted, the underbrush showed numerous signs of being hacked through- people had been through this region of the swamp, and recently too. As they walked, Suki suddenly stopped. Sokka noticed a moment later and asked, "What's the matter, Suki?" She paused for a moment before replying, "Listen."

Sokka listened for several moments before replying, "I don't hear anything."

"Exactly."

It took several moments for Sokka to process what he was just told. Then he realized. When they had left, the forest had been as noisy as ever; but now, it was dead silent, just as it had been the night before (or had that been a part of his dream? The way it transitioned was so seamless, it was impossible to tell where reality ended and his dream began). Spirit activity never happened during the day (except when very powerful spirits were involved), which could only mean one thing.

"We're close," Sokka said, drawing Space Sword. "Keep your eyes open." Suki drew the machete and the two continued onward, tense, scanning the trees for any sign of activity, listening as hard as they could for any break in the silence. The minutes ticked by; the tension was so unbearable that both Sokka and Suki almost breathed a sigh of relief when a massive crash sounded from the surrounding woods. The crash was followed by a great rumbling, punctuated by more crashes. A loud crack sounded; they looked over, just in time to see a tree fall over with another loud crash. Suddenly, everything was still. They scanned the surrounding woods for any sign of movement, waiting, prepared to strike.

Then, they saw it.

It was a snake- there was no surprise there. But what neither Sokka nor Suki had been prepared for was its size. It was huge; although it was nowhere as big as the Unagi, it was by far the largest land creature they had ever seen. It had coiled itself defensively around one of the numerous trees surrounding Sokka and Suki; its copper body was at least as wide at the tree trunk, if not bigger. It stared down at them with burning yellow eyes, tightening its grip on the tree, the wood audibly cracking under the pressure. It opened its mouth- exposing fangs at least as long as Sokka's arm- and hissed at the two; the size of the creature amplified the hiss, causing it to resemble a growl more than a hiss.

This had to be it. This had to be the reason why people had been disappearing. This had to be a mammoth python.

But there were more crashes, and suddenly, more mammoth pythons appeared, coiling themselves around the nearby trees. In all, six emerged from the depths of the swamp, completely surrounding Sokka and Suki. "Oh man," Sokka said in a low voice, "this isn't good at all."

"What do we do, Sokka?" Suki asked, whispering.

"I'm not sure." Sokka's mind was paralyzed with indecision. He had only been expecting one snake, not the half-dozen he was faced with now. Fighting one would have been hard enough, but fighting six? They would be lucky to kill one now.

But then, something very unexpected happened. The snakes diverted their attention from Sokka and Suki, and all focused on something further up the trail. Suddenly, the giant snakes fled, uncoiling from the trees and slithering away at blinding speeds. Sokka felt Suki drop her guard slightly. "Hmm, I wonder why they're running away." she said.

Sokka replied, "I don't know." He added mentally, _But if it can make giant snakes run away, do I really want to?_

There was another crash, one far larger than any that had come before it. The ground slowly began to rumble beneath their feet, as the crashes became even louder. But the vibrations of the falling trees were soon made indistinguishable from the constant rumblings in the ground. Suddenly, there was a great smashing sound as something completely leveled the line of trees in front of the two.

It was another mammoth python, but incredibly different from the mammoth pythons they had just encountered. Its scales were black, and its body was easily twice as large as any of the previous snakes. Had the differences ended there, Sokka and Suki might not have been as worried, but there was something else that separated it from anything either of them had seen before. Instead of just one head, this python had eight, each of its long necks coming together at a single point about halfway down the length of its body. And each head was staring right at Sokka and Suki.

Never mind what he had said before. _This_ had to be the reason people had been disappearing.

Each of the snake's heads opened their mouths, exposing fangs at least as long as Sokka was tall. Then, they began to hiss- it was a horrid sound, like metal scraping against metal, completely overwhelming the senses, seemingly penetrating the inside of Sokka's and Suki's heads. Then, a head reared back, and snapped forward. Sokka and Suki recovered enough to just barely stagger just outside the snake's striking range, and the massive snake head sank its fangs deep into the ground.

However, the snake was already on the attack, lashing out two heads, one to Sokka, and the other to Suki. Suki easily dodged the strike, slashing open one of the snake's eyes while its fangs were embedded in the ground. Sokka stood his ground, and when the moment arrived, he swung Space Sword- by sheer luck, he sliced through part of the snake's jaw, eliciting a hiss of pain as the head rapidly withdrew. But there was no time to relax- five of the snake heads now focused on Sokka, determined to kill this foolish human that had dared to harm it. Another two heads darted forward, mouths wide, expecting to swallow Sokka whole. But Sokka was ready; he grabbed Boomerang from his belt and threw it with all his might at one of the heads; it struck home, burying itself in one of the snake's eyes. When the other snake was in range, and with expert timing, Sokka drove his sword through the roof of the snake's mouth, piercing its brain and killing it almost instantly. In the nick of time, Sokka pulled his sword out and left the snake's mouth just before it could snap shut in its death throes.

Meanwhile, the head that attacked Suki pulled its fangs out of the ground. It glared at Suki, its one eye burning with whatever approximation of hate the beast possessed as blood poured from its other eye. With a hiss, it struck; Suki easily dodged the strike, and while the head's fangs were still buried in the ground, Suki climbed on and drove her machete in the flat space just above the snake's eyes. The head thrashed in pain, but Suki held on, continuing to drive the machete deeper into the python's skull; with one last thrash, the snake fell still, blood flowing freely from the wound in its head.

Three heads were down, but there were still five left, alive and burning with hate. They were divided, three facing Sokka, two facing Suki. One facing Suki lashed forward, jaws wide, but Suki easily avoided it, and it plunged its fangs deep into the ground. As it struggled to pull free, Suki climbed on, preparing to drive her machete into its skull; but before she could deliver the killing blow, the other head reared back and struck. Suki avoided the attack just in time, and the python's fangs sank into the head of its comrade. The head that had attacked instantly pulled away- a big mistake, as it ripped put the fangs that were still embedded in its comrade. The other convulsed uncontrollably, trying in vain to twist free of the fangs still embedded in it, before eventually falling still. But the attacker was undaunted, despite the lack of fangs- it reared back its entire body before slamming it against the ground where Suki was standing. Suki easily avoided the snake's attack, and in the few moments before it withdrew, approached and sliced a long gash in the side of its neck, just behind its head. Blood spilled out from the wound like a fountain, and the snakehead tore away, thrashing in pain. But rather than falling, it attempted to slam Suki again; Suki again avoided the attack, and drove her machete into the snake's side again. Even more blood poured from the fresh wound- this proved too much for the snake, as it made one last attempt to pull away before collapsing to the ground, convulsing slightly before finally lying still.

Sokka, meanwhile, was facing down the remaining heads. One head struck first, the one Sokka had blinded with Boomerang. As before, Sokka stood his ground until the moment was right; then, as soon as the head was in range, he stabbed his sword through the roof of the snake's mouth, piercing its skull and stabbing it in the brain. Just as before, Sokka pulled out his sword and retreated before the snake could snap its jaws shut around him. But the snake had anticipated his strategy, and another head was already moving to strike. Sokka had no time to prepare a defense- almost as soon as he had pulled away, another head was already speeding toward him, jaws wide, and suddenly swallowed him whole.

"_Sokka!_" Suki cried out. The head was already moving to face Suki when it suddenly convulsed violently. It convulsed uncontrollably, until a spurt of blood shot out of its neck. A gaping hole suddenly opened, a bloody Sokka emerging from it. Before the snake could fall, Sokka leapt out of the hole to another of the snake's heads- with a bloodthirsty roar, he swung his sword, almost cleaving completely through the snake's body. He fell to the ground, landing hard- he instantly dropped to one knee as the two snake heads collapsed to the ground behind him. He should have taken what Katara and Suki had said to heart; unimaginable pain pulsed through his leg, and he remained on one knee, unable to rise.

But the battle was over- the sole remaining snakehead was slowly turning its massive body away from Sokka and Suki, dragging itself along in an attempt to flee. Sokka was eventually able to force himself to his feet, and slowly limped after the retreating python; with only one head left to guide it, the beast's massive body greatly slowed its retreat, and Sokka was able to easily out-limp the monstrous reptile, circling to its front. The one remaining head stared down at it, its half-attached jaw widening as it made a feeble hiss at the human before it. Sokka waited, shifting his weight to his good leg, holding Space Sword in front of him. Eventually, the snakehead reared back, and slammed its body against the ground, attempting to crush him under its weight. Sokka dived out of the way, just missing the crushing blow, and slowly staggered to his feet, trying to prepare for the next attack.

But it never came. Sokka looked to see the snake lying still, glaring at him, apparently too weak attack again or retreat. Sokka slowly limped over to the snake, and stopped in front of it; it made one last feeble hiss, but its body didn't move. Sokka drew back his sword one last time, and sliced through the snake's head, from the crown of its head to the top of its jaw. The snake let out one last gurgling hiss as blood poured from the wound, forming a wide pool around its body. Sokka sheathed his sword and began to limp back around the mammoth python's body.

Suki met him along the way. To her he was quite a sight, covered from head to toe in blood. He saw her look of concern and said quickly, "Don't worry- it isn't as bad as it looks." He tried to shift his weight, to make it less obvious that he hurt his leg, but failed miserably, his bad leg buckling partially under his weight. She hurried to his side and draped his arm over her shoulder, taking on some of his weight. As the two began to limp away, Sokka said to Suki, "That wasn't necessary, but… thanks."

"So…" Suki began, "Is it dead?"

"Yeah." Sokka tried to pull away from Suki's grip. "Let go for a second. I need to do something." Suki complied, and watched as Sokka limped over to one of the fallen snakeheads. Without any hesitation, he plunged his hand into the snake's ruined eye and pulled out the single most reliable weapon he had ever owned. He limped back over to Suki, still holding Boomerang. "I lost him once…" Sokka said, as he leaned his weight against Suki. "I'm never going to lose him again." He looked over at Suki. "And I'm never going to lose you again, either."

Suki knew what was coming next, so she quickly spoke up to keep Sokka from saying anything else. "Sokka, we've been over this. What happened with Azula… it happened, okay? You can't keep beating yourself up over things in the past."

"I know. But if I--"

"Sokka, it happened. You can't change that. And if it hadn't, you would never have rescued me. Now I don't want to hear another word about this." She paused. "So, what's next?"

"What do you mean?"

"Where do we go from here? Do we wait here until Master Piandao, or Master Pakku finds us? Do we go back to that safehouse? Do we go to a village and wait there? What?"

"I don't know. I guess the plan is to get to the safehouse, if Master Pakku doesn't find us first."

"Um, Sokka? I think we should hold off on travelling, at least for today. You need to let your leg heal." Suki paused. "And you should really wash yourself off."

"Okay."

* * *

"Gah! Not so tight! And what do I need a splint for anyway!"

"Sokka, if you overexert yourself, you can break your leg again. The splint's just a precaution to keep that from happening. Now hold still." Suki ignored another protest from Sokka, followed by a cry of pain as she tied another knot to secure the splint. The two had just finished setting up camp for the night, or rather, Suki had finished setting up camp alone- she insisted on doing so, on account of Sokka's hurt leg. She finished tying the knot, and said, "There, I'm done."

"Yeah, cut off my leg, why don'tcha."

"Stop being such a girl, Sokka."

"Ugh, whatever. Just let me get some sleep so we can get going tomorrow morning."

"Really? Don't you want to--"

"No."

"But you don't even know what I was going to say."

"I don't want to do anything with my bad leg. And besides, we're in the middle of a swamp- I wouldn't exactly call that the world's most romantic setting."

"I wasn't talking about _that_. I was thinking that you might want something to eat before you go to bed." Almost on cue, a loud growl emanated from Sokka's stomach. "Well, now that you mention it, dinner sounds like a good idea."

"Okay, hold on just a second." Suki began searching through her pack, before a confused look spread across her face. She searched again, before saying, "I think we might have a problem, Sokka. We don't have any food."

"What? Then what are we supposed to do?" Sokka despaired for a moment, before his eyes fell on the enormous black mound that was the mammoth python. He struggled to his feet, and limped over to the fallen beast. "Sokka, what are you doing?" Suki asked. But Sokka's only reply was to draw Space Sword. "Sokka, please tell me you aren't thinking what I think you're thinking."

Minutes later, Sokka was ravenously devouring a large piece of meat. Suki, in contrast, was eating her piece of meat much more slowly. "I still can't believe you talked me into eating this."

"What's so bad about it, Suki? You said it yourself- this is actually pretty good. And I cooked it for you, too"

"I know, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm eating a _giant snake_."

"The thing is, I can't believe how meaty this snake is. Most arctic snakes back home are all gamey, but this…" He took a large bite. "It tastes like arctic hen. Or…" He took another large bite. "Or salmon." He took yet another large bite. "Maybe both?" Then, he ravenously devoured the rest of his snake. "Alright. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I'm stuffed." He paused for a moment. "I'm going to bed now, Suki. Can you take the first watch?"

"Sure, Sokka." Sokka curled up on the ground a short distance from the campfire. There was silence for a few moments before Sokka asked, "Suki?"

"What is it, Sokka?"

"You did a great job out there today."

Suki smiled. "You too, Sokka."

* * *

**Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking. Due to some unexpected problems, there may be some delays in posting the next few chapters, but updates will come as soon as possible. On the behalf of the crew, I would like to apologize for any discomfort these delays may cause during your reading of this story.**


	6. Recuperation

Chapter VI: Recuperation

"Good morning Sokka." Sokka woke with a start at the unfamiliar voice, only for it to continue, "It's alright, Sokka. You're safe." Sokka looked around, searching for the source of the voice, before his eyes finally fell on Master Piandao. "Master," Sokka said, "you came to find us."

"Actually Sokka, I've been following you for the last several days. And I have to say, you did a fine job here."

"Wait, you were there when we had to fight that _thing_?"

"That isn't what I meant- I meant to say that Huu and I only caught up with you this morning."

"Wait, Huu's here?"

"Yes. He told me all about the mammoth python you killed. Apparently, you two killed a local legend."

"Really?" Sokka slowly got to his feet, his leg buckling as it struggled under his weight. This was not lost on Piandao, who stated flatly, "You're injured."

"It wasn't from the snake, if that's what you're wondering. I just took a bad fall, is all." Sokka began to limp toward the body of the snake. "So, what were you saying about this thing? Something about a local legend?"

"This particular mammoth python is called an 'orochi.' They're much larger than a normal mammoth python, and have anywhere between three to eight heads. They're much more aggressive too- a single one of them can eat over a hundred people per year. You should consider yourselves lucky you weren't killed."

"Mister Piandao's right, y'know." Huu approached, with Suki alongside him. "There ain't a lot of people who've seen an orochi and lived to talk about it, and even fewer who've ever killed one- this would be the first in… over two hundred years, I reckon."

"Wow…" Sokka mumbled.

Huu then said, "Nobody in our tribe is ever proud to have to put down an orochi- our people once considered them to be sacred. But it couldn't be helped. What's been done here is done."

Then, Piandao spoke up. "Sokka, Suki, I realize that this assignment was far more dangerous than the Grand Masters and I anticipated. But, you did well. So, I think you two earned a little… _vacation_ for the next few weeks."

Smiles cracked across both Sokka's and Suki's faces. She asked quickly, "So does that mean—"

"Unfortunately, since the two of you are only initiates, you are not permitted to have any contact with friends or family members. Once you become ranking members within our organization, you may resume contact with the outside world."

"Oh…" There was silence for a moment before Suki asked, "Master Piandao, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Suki."

"Sokka and I are probably going to go on more assignments like this, right?"

"Some of your assignments will be very dangerous, yes."

"Well, I need to ask you a favor. I didn't bring any weapons with me, and since we can't have contact with friends or family members, can you go to Kyoshi Island and bring back some of my weapons?"

"Certainly. Your weapons will be delivered to you before your next assignment."

"Suki bowed. "Thank you, Master Piandao."

"Now, we should get back to the matter at hand." He paused momentarily before saying, "The only I have left to say is… where would you like to spend your vacation?"

* * *

"Well, I guess this isn't too bad," Sokka said. "But I still say we should've picked Ember Island."

"Come on Sokka, by the time we got to Ember Island, we'd have to turn around and leave- after all, Master Piandao said we only have three weeks of vacation time."

He glanced over at her. "I think my cynicism is starting to rub off on you."

"Only in your worst nightmares," Suki replied jokingly. Two days had passed since they left the Foggy Swamp and arrived at their vacation spot, a small, nameless costal town a few miles north. Sokka had wanted to go to Ember Island, while Suki had wanted to stay in the Earth Kingdom. Eventually, after a few minutes of coercion, Sokka relented, and agreed that the two would vacation locally. Piandao recommended that they visit a small village to the north of the swamp, and the deal was sealed.

However, the vacation wasn't purely for its own sake, nor was it purely a reward for Sokka's and Suki's accomplishment. Piandao had said that until Sokka's leg had healed, he couldn't, in good conscience, send the two initiates on another assignment. After three weeks of rest, according to the master, Sokka's leg would be healed enough for him to take on another mission.

"You know,' Sokka began, "I really wish Katara was here. She could've fixed up my leg, and we'd already be on our next assignment."

"Well, I guess that's our loss." She stood up. "I think I'll go for a swim."

"That sounds nice…" Sokka nodded dumbly, staring out over the ocean, lost in thought, and most certainly _not _admiring how Suki's rear nicely filled the pair of tight short shorts she was wearing.

Suki quickly caught on. "Hey! You're not even listening to a word I'm saying!"

"Um, yes I am!"

"Prove it then!"

"I don't think you should go for a swim. The water's still too cold."

"I guess you're right…" Suki said, and sat back down. Sokka thought she actually looked slightly disappointed about the missed opportunity to yell at Sokka. So Sokka quickly interjected, "I really was thinking, though, before…"

"About what?"

"Well, do you think there are others like us? Other initiates, I mean."

"Sure. I mean, back at the safehouse, Master Piandao he was looking for more recruits. So, there probably are."

"Do you think we'll ever meet them?"

"Maybe, on one of our assignments." Suki shook her head. "But you shouldn't be worrying about that right now, Sokka. You should be trying to relax."

"Suki, don't forget, we're only here until my leg gets better. And besides, we should start preparing for our next assignment now."

"Sokka, you don't even know what our next assignment will be."

"I know. But that doesn't mean we can't prepare for it."

"Okay then, how should we prepare?"

Sokka was silent for several moments. "…I don't know."

"Well then, I'll just let you think about that."

* * *

"Good morning Sokka."

"Good morning Suki."

"So, how's your leg feeling?"

"Eh, still stiff, still hurts when I stand on it." He lifted his leg off the ground a bended it a few times. "But at least it doesn't hurt when I bend it."

"Well, that's a good start, at least." As the two left the small hut they had rented for the duration of their stay, Sokka asked, "Suki, what do you think the others are doing?"

"I'm sure they're doing the same thing they were when I last asked that question," Suki replied. She then began to say, "Look, I'm sure Katara and Aang are—"

"Actually, I wasn't thinking about them." Much to his own surprise, he wasn't thinking about Aang and Katara at all. It was strange- Aang, Katara, his other friends, they all felt so… distant in his memory. How long had it been since he'd last seen them? Four months? Five? Six? Sokka earnestly couldn't remember, and that fact bothered him more than anything else during the last few months. "You know," Sokka began, "when this is over and we get ranked, I'm gonna talk to Master Piandao, see if we can get some time off to visit Katara and the others."

"You really miss them, don't you?"

"Yeah… and I would give anything if we could go see them right now." At that moment, Sokka suddenly staggered, but quickly regained his balance, visibly shifting his weight off of his bad leg. Suki asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'll be okay." He then had a sudden realization, and asked, "Suki, do you know anything that might help my leg get better?" In the six days since he injured his leg, he hadn't thought to ask his companion if there was anything she knew that might alleviate the pain.

"Well, I know a few stretches that might help your leg get better. I can show them to you when we get back from the market."

"Okay. That sounds good."

* * *

On a morning three or four days later, Suki awoke. At once, she noticed that Sokka was no longer sleeping next to her. She climbed out of bed, dressed herself, and left the hut; outside, she spotted Sokka sitting at the end of a short pier nearby, a fishing rod in his hands. She approached him- without taking his attention off his fishing line, Sokka said, "Good morning Suki."

She sat down next to him and replied, "You're up early." The sun hadn't even risen over the mountains to the east, casting massive shadows over the tiny village.

"I had some trouble sleeping." Sokka pulled his line out of the water for a moment, before casting it into the ocean again. "You know, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Well, how do you think the other Kyoshi Warriors are doing?"

"I'm sure they're doing fine, Sokka."

"You really think so? You don't think the recruits are giving them any problems?"

"I'm sure everything is fine. What are you so worried about?"

"Well… you left Ty Lee in charge when we left, right?"

"Yeah. What about her?"

"Well, I don't want to talk bad about her… but, I don't really think Ty Lee is 'leader' material." Sokka recalled several instances where Ty Lee had failed to show up for training, being distracted by some other activity, and even a few instances where he and Suki had caught her openly flirting with a few of the recruits.

"Look Sokka, I left Ty Lee in charge because I trust her, and on top of that, I've been training her to lead the Kyoshi Warriors in case something were to ever happen to me. I know she isn't as… _responsible_ as either of us, but Ty Lee has her own way of doing things, and I'm going to respect that."

"So, did you have any problems when she joined you guys?"

"Well, I didn't like the idea at first, but all the other Kyoshi Warriors put in a good word about her, so I gave her the benefit of the doubt. I don't regret my decision- she's loyal, even if she's kind of… off. And she's actually a good leader, when she has to put her mind to it." Then she asked, "So what about you? How do you think your dad is doing at the South Pole?"

"I'm sure Dad is doing fine. He said things had gotten easier once Pakku came, and they've gotten even easier since the War ended. Pakku, the end of the War, the reconstruction… to be honest, it looks like it'll be smooth sailing for the Southern Water Tribe from here on out."

"Well that's good to hear."

"So… what do you say? Will you come see it with me? The Southern Water Tribe, I mean."

"Sure. Once all of this is out of the way, and once we see Aang and Katara and the others again, I'll go to the South Pole with you."

He looked over at her, stunned. "Really?" He quickly regained his composure. "Uh, I mean… thanks. That really means a lot to me."

"You're welcome Sokka."

* * *

Four days passed. In the morning, Suki awoke to find Sokka's half of the bed empty. Again. Already anticipating where he was, she got dressed and left the hut, immediately spotting Sokka at the end of the pier. This time, he was casually throwing Boomerang out over the water, catching it when it returned. She sat down on the pier next to him and said, "Good morning."

"Hey," was Sokka's only reply as he caught Boomerang and slipped it into his bag.

"So… how are things?"

"Good." He fell silent. Sokka had woken up early every day since he'd started four days prior; it was obvious that there was something on his mind. So Suki asked him, "Is there anything wrong Sokka?"

He shook his head. "No. Well, it's just, we've been here for two weeks. Shouldn't we have gotten any word from Master Piandao by now?"

"Well, maybe he's busy. I'm sure he'll send word once he's on his way here. But come on, Sokka, you should be worried about your leg."

"My leg's fine." He stood up, only to have his bad leg buckle slightly under his weight. He grimaced for a moment before he said, "Well, it will be, give or take a few days." He began to walk down the pier, away from Suki. "I'm gonna run along the beach. I'll be back in an hour. I'll be just fine, don't worry."

A few days passed. Every day, Sokka went to run along the beach- he would always return a few minutes later than the time he had promised. Suki had hoped his daily runs would help to calm him down, but instead, Sokka became more tense with every passing day. He would pace incessantly wherever he was, and when he was outside, he would constantly scan the skies, the roads, and the ocean, as if he were expecting someone. Then, two days before the end of Sokka's and Suki's vacation, as Sokka strode out of the hut, he immediately spotted a messenger hawk perched on the pier. The red bird squawked at him, as though it had been waiting impatiently. He reached down and pulled out a slip of paper from the canister in its back; with its mission complete, the messenger hawk then flew off. But Sokka paid no attention, busily reading the letter. From behind, Suki peered over his shoulder and asked, "What's that, Sokka?"

He breathed a sigh of relief. "It's from Master Piandao. He says he's got your weapons, and that he's on his way here."

"Well that's good." But Sokka's demeanor didn't improve in the slightest- if anything, he became even more on edge. He spent the next two days simply standing just beside the door of the hut, his eyes fixed on the road leading up to the pier. One day, however, he saw someone coming- the black robes with white trim he wore were a dead giveaway. He sprinted over, not even bothering to tell Suki the good news, and called out to Piandao, "Oh, thank you! Thank you! I can't believe you're finally here!" He stopped once he reached his former master. "So, do you have another assignment for us?"

Piandao adjusted a large bag slung across his shoulder and nodded. "I do. But I think this is something both you _and_ Suki will want to hear." He began to walk to the hut, and Sokka followed him. Sokka asked curiously, "So, how have things been going for you?"

"I have to admit, things aren't going well. We found some recruits, but we haven't been able to find as many as we'd hoped over these last few months."

"So, what will you do about that?"

"We'll keep searching for recruits, and hope more people agree to join up with us." He reached up and knocked on the hut's door. Suki opened the door, her eyes widening instantly, and said excitedly, "Master Piandao! You're here!"

Piandao handed the bag over his shoulder to Suki. "I brought you your weapons. And, I have an assignment for both of you."

As Suki inspected the contents of the bag, she asked, "What is it?"

"The Council of Five is becoming anxious about the Outcast forces holed up here in the Earth Kingdom. They want to take care of the situation as quickly as possible, but they need to be able to anticipate the Outcasts' next move. So, your next assignment is to infiltrate an Outcast fortress, and collect any information that might help us- troop movements, attack plans, locations of other Outcast fortresses, anything like that."

"Alright," Suki said. "That doesn't sound too difficult."

"But remember, this is an intelligence-gathering mission only. The last thing we need is the Outcasts going on a rampage when they discover all the soldiers in one of their strongholds have been killed."

"Okay, we won't kill anyone," Sokka said. "So where are these guys hiding?"

"You won't be going there right away, Sokka. First, you'll rendezvous with another initiate in a village named Garu, to the north of here. Then the three of you will move on to the stronghold, acquire the information, and return to Garu, where you'll pass the intelligence on to a contact sent by the Council of Five." He turned slightly. "Stay on your toes out there. You'll be in enemy territory, and if anything goes wrong, we won't be able to do anything for you." Piandao turned to the road leading away from the hut. "I need to return to my duties. You two take care of yourselves." He set down the road again. Sokka and Suki watched him for several moments before Suki looked over at Sokka and asked, "Well, aren't you excited? You're finally going on a mission."

"Yeah I'm excited! And we get to meet a new initiate too! Come on, we need to pack and get going!"


	7. Infiltration

Chapter VII: Infiltration

Three days passed. In that time, Sokka and Suki made their way north to the village of Garu, to rendezvous with their mysterious comrade. On the second day of their journey, Sokka asked, "So what do you think this other initiate will be like?"

"Who knows…" Suki replied. "I hope they're polite, though."

"You think it's anyone we know?"

"I don't know. Probably not, though."

The two continued following the road to the north. Eventually, they came to the village of Garu. Like the village to the south, it was a small village, built on the western coast of the Earth Kingdom. However, this village, unlike the last, was large enough to afford itself a tavern. The tavern was the tallest building in Garu, at two stories high. But that wasn't where their attention was. Rather, they were focusing on the large beast sleeping in the alley on the side of the building. It was massive, its fur was a light brown, and a large saddle had been strapped to its body. But most peculiarly, it had no eyes; its only facial features were a large mouth filled with sharp teeth, and a large nose in the shape of a star.

Suki was the first to identify the animal. "That's a Shirshu," she said.

"A Shirshu? Oh boy." At that moment, they heard a loud crash followed instantly by a groan of pain. They hurried to the front of the tavern, to see a man sprawled on the ground just outside the entrance. Unsure of what to expect, they entered.

Almost immediately, they spotted two people fighting in the middle of the tavern. One was a man in a white gi, with a red headband. The other was a woman, with black clothes, black hair, and very pale skin. The man drew back and delivered a powerful punch… or he would have if the woman hadn't dodged his attack. The woman was now standing with her back to the entrance, relatively close to where Sokka and Suki were standing. The man drew back again to deliver another powerful blow, but the woman was faster, and landed a powerful punch on the man's face. Almost instantly, the man slumped to the floor, clutching his face in pain. The woman shook her hand slightly, muttering, "It's always the dumb ones who have the hardest heads…" before she stalked off and took a seat at a table near the back of the room. Carefully, Sokka and Suki stepped over the fallen man and made their way to the woman's table. She must have felt them coming, because she began to say, "You're back for more already? Haven't the last three times taught you—" She looked back at the two, and her expression changed from anger to one of mild irritation. "Oh, it's you. Where's the bald kid?"

"It's nice to see you again too, June," Sokka said. "And Aang's not with us. Suki and I are here alone on business."

"Really? What kind of business?" June asked, before taking a drink from a small cup sitting on the table.

Suki answered, "We're looking for someone- an initiate for the Order of the White Lotus."

"Well, it just so happens that part of my assignment is to wait here for a couple of White Lotus initiates to show up. And unless I'm mistaken, you two are the initiates I'm supposed to be waiting for."

"So, you're a part of the White Lotus too?" Sokka asked, taking a seat across from June.

"Yeah, I was recruited, but don't get the wrong idea- I'm not what you would call a 'philanthropist,'" June replied, before taking another drink. "To me, this is just another job- I'm still getting paid at the end of all of this." She took one last drink before standing up. "Well, now that you're here, there's no point in sitting around. Let's go." She headed to the entrance of the tavern, with Sokka and Suki following. The three rounded the building- at once, the Shirshu sniffed the air, and with a low grunt, got to its feet. "Come on Nyla," she said to the beast. "We have to go." Nyla responded, by lowering his body, allowing June to climb into the saddle. However, Nyla didn't return to his feet, but remained in its lowered position.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" June asked. "Get on." After a moment's hesitation, Sokka complied, and climbed on the saddle behind June before helping Suki climb on. Then, with a snap of the reins, June drove Nyla out of the alleyway and after a few moments, out of the village. Several minutes passed in silence before Suki finally asked, "So, where's this Outcast stronghold that we have to infiltrate?"

"The guy who gave me the assignment said the fortress was to the north of here, in some foothills to the south of some place called 'Merchant's Pier,' or something like that. I have a map around here somewhere- check in one of those pouches." Sokka searched through one of the pouches- sure enough, he found a rolled up map of the Earth Kingdom, a red dot marked over the foothills to the south of a town called Merchant's Pier, the words "Outcast base" written underneath.

Some time passed. The sun began to sink below the horizon, so June elected to have the group stop for the night. The three sat around the campfire in silence, Sokka and Suki on one side, June on the other, scratching Nyla's belly. The silence was a bit uncomfortable, and with a bit of difficulty, Sokka asked, "So, how did you end up working for the Order of the White Lotus?"

June glanced over briefly and replied, "That guy, Piandao, showed up one day trying to recruit me. I turned him down, told him I didn't work for anyone but myself. He kept following me around, kept asking me to join up, and I kept telling him I wasn't interested… at least, until he told me he was willing to negotiate a compromise. So we worked out a deal- I go through this whole initiation process, and when it's over I'm free to go. From time to time, the Order contacts me with an assignment- I carry it out, and I get paid."

"So, the Order would be like a… private contractor."

"Exactly."

There was a short pause before Suki said, "So, we're going to be sneaking into an Outcast fortress. Isn't that kind of dangerous?"

"Could be. The Outcasts have been pretty quiet for the last couple of months. The Council of Five is worried they're planning something big, so they put in a word to the Order of the White Lotus, and now we're camping out in the middle of the woods on the way to steal some intelligence from an Outcast fortress."

June leaned back against her massive Shirshu. "Well, I'm going to get some sleep, and if you two have any sense, so will you. We're gonna be leaving bright and early tomorrow." She fell silent. Suki curled up close to the fire, as if she was preparing to go to sleep, when she asked, "So, what do you think of this whole thing, Sokka?"

"I don't know. I mean, dealing with the Outcasts? I'd feel more comfortable about that if Aang were here with us."

"Hey, I'm sure Aang and the others are dealing with the Outcasts, too. And besides, it's not like we'll be fighting them head-on. It's a stealth assignment. And I'm a master of stealth." She shifted to a more comfortable position. "Now, get some sleep. We're leaving early tomorrow morning after all." Suki fell silent, and with no one else to talk to, Sokka soon laid down to sleep as well.

As Sokka lay on the ground, trying to sleep, his thoughts drifted to the Fire Nation Outcasts. When the War ended, Zuko had issued a general ceasefire to all troops in the Fire Nation army, at home and abroad. Some had disobeyed the ceasefire, refusing to recognize Zuko as the legitimate Fire Lord, and banded together, vowing to continue the War in the name of Ozai. This small group called themselves the Outcasts, and was made up of a handful of Fire Nation generals and nobles, along with whatever soldiers they could convince to join their cause, and even a handful of Dai Li agents had found their way into their ranks. The Outcasts were vicious- they had razed several towns and villages, openly attacked Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation soldiers, and had even attempted to break Ozai and Azula out of their respective prisons. The Outcasts' numbers were small, and spread thin over numerous strongholds scattered over the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation, but their lack of manpower proved to be to their advantage, making them nearly impossible to track- over the months since the War ended, only two Outcast strongholds had been destroyed out of an unknown number, and at the cost of a great many number of lives. To Sokka's knowledge, there had been no prior attempts to infiltrate an Outcast stronghold. _Well, there's a first time for everything…_ Sokka thought to himself, before rolling onto his side and falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

Just under two weeks passed as the three traveled to the Outcast fortress. June spoke very little to Sokka and Suki- the only times she seemingly did speak was when she spoke to Nyla, when she gave instructions, or when she made predictions regarding when they would reach the fortress. This wasn't lost on Sokka and Suki, and one day, as they rode on Nyla, Sokka asked, "You don't talk very much, do you?"

"In my line of work, talking too much can get you killed. Believe me, I found that one out the hard way." Her hand rested against her side, just above her waist for a moment, before she said to Sokka, "You're one to talk. You two have kept pretty quiet too."

"Well, it's just, we don't want to bother you too much."

"Hey, we're be stuck working together until all of this is over. It couldn't hurt too much to get to know each other a little better." She tugged on Nyla's reins, and said, "Hold up, Nyla." She then reached into a pouch and pulled out a map, studying it closely. Sokka and Suki peered over her shoulders to see it, Suki asking, "How much closer are we?"

"We're close- I'd say it'll take another week before we reach the Outcasts' fortress." June snapped Nyla's reins. "Come on, Nyla. We have to go." With a grunt, the beast set out again.

Several hours passed. Night had fallen, and as the three sat around the campfire, Sokka asked, "So… where are you from, June?"

June replied simply, "Far away."

"Why did you become a bounty hunter?"

"Well… that's a long, complicated, and kinda depressing story. But if you really want to know, I might tell it to you when we're done with this assignment." She turned back to stroke Nyla's belly. "So, what about you two? Last time I remember, there were more people in your group. Like that Fire Nation prince and his girl—"

"_She's not his girlfriend!_" Sokka snapped- he surprised himself by how quickly he had reacted.

"Okay okay, sheesh. I was just kidding."

Suki answered June's question just then, before Sokka could say anything else: "Well, Zuko was crowned the Fire Lord."

"Huh. Good for him."

"And Aang, Katara, and Toph are dealing with the Outcasts right now, just like us."

"Well, good luck to them." June turned again and leaned back against her mount. "We should get some sleep. We'll be at the fortress soon."

* * *

Several days passed as the three continued north. One day, at the three week mark since they left the village, Nyla became seemingly restless- he would continuously sniff the air, and paw against the ground with his claws. June dismounted Nyla and said to Sokka and Suki, "We're really close now. We'll go on foot from here- I can take us the rest of the way." Sokka dismounted as well, but Suki remained on Nyla, asking, "But what about Nyla? What'll he do?"

"Nyla will have to wait here until we get back. He's just too big, and we can't risk getting spotted." She approached the massive beast, and patted its head, saying to it in a low voice, "I have to go now, Nyla. Wait here for me until I get back." Nyla's response was a low whine. "Come on, don't do that. This is hard enough as it is. Now, just be a good boy and wait here. I'll be back soon." Nyla made another low whine, but this time, he laid himself on the ground, his body slumped. June scratched behind Nyla's ears one last time before saying, "Come on. We have to go." And with that, Suki dismounted the Shirshu.

A few minutes passed as June, Sokka and Suki made their way through the woods. June was in the front, leading Sokka and Suki, when all of a sudden, she stopped and held out her arm. "What is it?" Sokka asked, only to be immediately shushed by June. Several minutes passed before she finally said in a low voice, "Okay, I think it's all clear. I thought I heard someone. We're almost there- stay low, and stay close." She bent down and began to slowly creep through the underbrush; Sokka and Suki followed her example, until again, she held out her arm, signaling for them to stop. A moment later, she beckoned for them to approach. They did, and when they were alongside June, she whispered to them, "We're here." She peered through the bushes, before pulling back to allow Sokka and Suki to look.

Through the bush, Sokka and Suki could see a structure some distance away from them. The only immediately identifiable structure was a short tower that rose slightly above the walls surrounding the Outcasts' fortress. Neither Sokka nor Suki could be sure, but the surface of the walls appeared rough and uneven- no doubt the Outcasts had forced local earthbenders into erecting the walls for them. The tower was also poorly constructed, although rather than stone, it appeared to be made of metal. On a short pole at the top of the tower flew a flag of gold and red, emblazoned with a stylized phoenix- the personal symbol of "Phoenix King" Ozai. But the base wasn't deserted- from their vantage point, Sokka and Suki could see about two guards standing at the outside of the wall, with another two patrolling at the top.

"Okay, so there's the base," Suki said. "So what do we do now?"

"I'd been watching these guys for about a week before I left to go get you two. If they stick to their schedule, these guys'll head in and the night shift will come out at nightfall."

"So we have to wait here until sunset?" Sokka asked.

"Yep. And that'll be in about… six hours. Make yourselves comfortable."

* * *

The hours passed. The three alternated in keeping watch over the fortress. Little could be said about it- from time to time, one of the guards would be replaced by another, and one would wander away, returning a few minutes later, but the number of sentries standing guard remained consistently at four. But mercifully, the sky began to transition from blue, to orange, to red. When the sky turned red, the four soldiers disappeared from Sokka's view. "Okay," he said in a low voice, "the guards just went away."

"Their shift's over," June replied, leaning over to peer through the bushes. "Now we can sneak inside. But we have to hurry- if they stick to schedule, the night shift will be out in about six minutes."

"Then we should get going." Sokka began to stand up, but June pulled him back down. "Hold on just a second. We need to avoid drawing too much attention. We should go one at a time. I'll go first." Staying low, June left the underbrush and hurried to the base of the wall. After a moment, she signaled for Sokka and Suki to come. "Well, I should go next, Suki said to Sokka, and hurried over to the wall as well- after a moment, Sokka followed. When the three had regrouped, June said, "Okay, now we need to get over this wall. Can either of you do that?"

"Yeah, I can. Hold on for just a second." Suki then began to climb the wall, not waiting for a reply. June called out in a low voice, "Throw down a rope if you can find one!" Almost as if on cue, a rope descended from the top of the wall. Without delay, the two climbed to the top of the wall, gaining a better view of the inside of the base.

The inside of the fortress was surprisingly small- the only distinct building was a large, square-shaped structure that the tower rose from. The other buildings were much smaller, near-identical rectangular structures- barracks, presumably. After scanning over the interior of the base, Sokka mumbled, "Great, now what? The intelligence could be in any one of those buildings."

"I think I have an idea," Suki replied. She motioned over to a nearby guard walking by the base of the wall beneath them. She drew her tanto from the sheath at her waist and said, "Wait here for just a minute." She jumped down to ground level, landing in complete silence. Then, she sprinted over to the guard, her footsteps nearly inaudible- when she was in range, she slipped one leg around the guards, forced up his chin with her free hand, and pressed the dull side of the tanto against the guard's throat, all in one fluid motion. She said to the guard in a low, threatening voice, "Well, looks like someone forgot to shave this morning. _Let me help you with that_." She pressed the tanto harder against the guard's throat.

"No! Wait, please! Don't kill me!" The guard wheezed back.

"You didn't insult me. You're a lot smarter that the last person I tried this on."

Suki's bluff worked. 'What do you want from me?"

"I know there's information about the other Outcast bases here. You're going to tell me exactly where I can find it, and if you even _think_ about lying to me… well, do you really want to know?"

"There's an archive… in the building on the northeast corner of the base. The information about the other strongholds is there."

"Good. And just for that, I'm not going to kill you." Suki pulled her tanto away, but instead of sheathing it, she drew back her arm and smashed the hilt against the back of the guard's head; the guard slumped to the ground instantly, and lay motionless on the ground. Suki signaled for her two comrades to come forward- when the two had closed the distance, Sokka asked, "You find out anything?"

"The information's in a building in the northeast corner of the base."

"Well, we came from the south," June said, "so the building is in the far right corner of the base. We need to get there now- we only have four minutes left before the night shift comes." June began to follow the wall to the eastern edge, saying, "We'll travel along the outer edge. Hopefully we'll run into fewer guards that way." Sokka and Suki followed, trying to make as little noise as possible, when June signaled for them to stop. She pressed herself against the last building in the row, and peered around the corner. The path to the far side of the base appeared to be all clear. The three skirted around the building, and June again peered around the corner, only to instantly draw back. "There's a guard coming," she hissed to Sokka and Suki. This time, Sokka drew Space Sword and whispered back, "I can handle this one." He moved to the edge, holding Space Sword ready. He strained, focusing on the sound of approaching footsteps. Sokka heard one from just around the corner- at this, Sokka swung Space Sword, hilt-first, around the corner.

He lucked out- the swing struck the guard in the direct center of his face, and he collapsed immediately. "Good job," June mumbled to Sokka, before the three of them moved down to the far end of the base. The three of them were now only a few feet away from the building the guard had directed them to. June moved from her hiding spot to the building- she peered through a medium-sized window on the side of the building before signaling Sokka and Suki to follow. "It looks all clear. We'll need to split up so we can find the information faster. I'll take the left; Suki, you take the middle, and Sokka, you take the right. But we have to hurry- we only have three minutes left."

Without another word, June hopped through the window into the building- Suki, and then Sokka, followed suit. Inside, the building had a series of shelves, arranged so that they formed three forks- one on the left, one on the right, and one in the middle. Each shelf was absolutely jam-packed with scrolls. Wordlessly, Sokka moved to take the right branch. He looked at the mountains of scrolls, slightly intimidated- there were so many! How could he hope to find what he was looking for alone? Unconsciously, he grabbed a scroll off a shelf and opened it. _What's this? …No, this is just a letter_, he thought to himself, before returning the scroll to its shelf and grabbing another one. He opened it- a casualty report. He closed it and grabbed yet another scroll. And another. And another. Each scroll he opened seemed to contain nothing but small pieces of information that were more or less completely useless to him. Discouraged, he grabbed one more scroll and opened it. There was something markedly different about this scroll- it was a map, a red dot marking the base's location, and a series of red arrows pointing to some nearby towns.

Attack plans.

Sokka couldn't be sure if they had any relevance- there was no date written anywhere on the map- but it had to be a step in the right direction. So, he pocketed the scroll and picked up one that had been next to it on the shelf. This scroll was also a map, but rather than a local area, it depicted the entire Earth Kingdom, a dozen or so red dots marked all over the western half. In the bottom left corner of the page was written "Fire Nation Outcast Strongholds." "Well, what do we have here?" Sokka mumbled to himself as he looked the map over. There was little doubt; this had to be the information they were looking for. But Sokka wasn't about to call the others just yet. Maybe there was a map for the Fire Nation as well. He picked up a scroll that had been next to the map- to his surprise it wasn't a map, but some sort of operational report. He returned it, and picked another scroll- this time, on the scroll was drawn a map of the Fire Nation, with various red dots marking the location of the Outcast bases. "Guys!" He called out in a loud whisper. "Guys, I think I found it!" A few moments passed before Suki, and the June, were at his side. "What did you find?" June asked.

"I think they're maps of the Outcast bases."

"Let me see them." Sokka handed her the two maps. She looked down at them, stopping every few moments to check with a third scroll she was holding. "Okay, these two maps are pretty consistent with this log of troop movements I found, so I think they're genuine. You find anything else?"

"I found some attack plans."

"Okay, we'll take those with us too." June turned to Suki. "What about you? You find anything?"

"I found some attack plans too, for the other bases. I don't know if they'll help us, though."

"We'll worry about that later. We got what we came for- now we have to get out of here." June headed to the window and hopped out; Sokka and Suki did likewise. The three headed up a small staircase that led to the top of the wall. Sokka peered over the edge. "That's some drop," he said. June sat down at the wall's edge, her legs dangling over the side. "Well, it's also our fastest way down." She pushed herself over the edge, landing on the ground with a light thump a moment later. After a moment, Suki jumped down from the wall as well, landing with a slightly heavier thump. Sokka sat down at the edge- there was not enough time to get back to the rope, so this was the best he could do to lessen the pain that he would feel when he landed. After a moment, Sokka pushed himself away from the wall.

It didn't help. Unimaginable pain coursed through Sokka's leg the exact moment he landed; he struggled to his feet, only to collapse back onto one knee. "Come on Sokka!" June called to him. "We have to go!"

"I can't!" He called back. "It's my leg! I can't move it!" Then, a bell began to ring inside the base. _Oh no…_ Sokka thought to himself. Again, he struggled to his feet; he managed, but virtually all his weight was now on his good leg. He hopped his way into the forest, only to be stopped when a voice behind him shouted "There they are! Fire!" Sokka turned, just in time to see a fireball streaking toward him. He dived out of the way just in time, and tossed Boomerang back in response. Boomerang arced through the air, striking a guard on top of the wall right across the face. Sokka got back on his good leg, caught Boomerang, and began hopping back toward the forest. He eventually reached his other comrades, having to dodge several more fireballs in the process. As soon as he reached them, June jammed two fingers in her mouth and made the loudest whistle Sokka and Suki had ever heard; moments later, Nyla crashed through the trees and stopped just in front of June. She hopped on, grabbed a small pouch from inside her vest and tossed it toward the wall. The pouch exploded into an enormous cloud of smoke; in the smokescreen, June grabbed Sokka and began to pull him up to Nyla's saddle; Suki pushed him up as well, before hopping on herself. With everyone secure, June snapped the reins, and Nyla charged back into the forest.

Many hours passed. Nyla kept moving through the night, after dawn, and after noon, only stopping at dusk. Throughout that time, Nyla gradually slowed, from a full charge, to a slower run, to a steady walk, to an exhausted limp, before he finally collapsed on the side of the road. When Nyla stopped, June turned back, and suddenly decked Sokka right across the face, knocking him out of the saddle and into the road. Instantly, Suki had drawn Sokka's machete from her waist, and she asked furiously, "_What the __**hell**__ is wrong with you?_"

"What's wrong with me! What's wrong with you! Or better yet, what's wrong with him! He almost got us all killed!"

"If it wasn't for Sokka, you'd be dead right now! You and everyone else in the Earth Kingdom!"

Sokka staggered back to his feet, his bad leg buckling under his weight. "Look," he said, "I broke my leg trying to stop the Fire Nation's airships a few months ago. I know I should've told you, but hitting me isn't going to change that fact."

June jumped down from the tired Shirshu. "Whatever. We should stop for the night so Nyla can rest."

An hour or so passed. The three sat around a small campfire they had made on the side of the road. June sat near the sleeping Nyla, looking away from Sokka and Suki with an angry look on her face. She hadn't spoken to either of them since they had stopped for the night. All of a sudden, June asked, "Is what you said true? You really took down a fleet of Fire Nation airships?"

Both Sokka and Suki were taken aback for a moment, but Suki quickly replied, "Yeah, we did. Me and Sokka and Toph."

"I only heard rumors about that." She paused briefly. "Listen, about what I said, I'm…" her voice dropped to being nearly inaudible. "_…I'm sorry. And… thanks._" Her voice rose back to its normal volume. "For what it's worth, you two did a good job out there."

"Uh… thanks?" Sokka replied, a bit confused.

June leaned against Nyla. "Well, we should get some sleep. We need to wake up early and put as much distance between us and the fortress as we can."

* * *

A week passed as the three slowly made their way back to the village of Garu. Nyla had recovered most of his strength by then, and he was able to head down the path at a steady pace. On that day, as Nyla walked down the road, June asked out loud, "You probably want to hear my story now, don't you?" Sokka and Suki were confused at first- then, they remembered June's promise. Without waiting for an answer, June continued: "Like I said, it's a long, complicated, and kinda depressing story."

She paused briefly before continuing. "My father and I came from some islands off the east coast of the Earth Kingdom. He was a bounty hunter back in the day, one of the best. People called him 'The Beast of the East.'" June laughed. "He always hated that nickname. He and I traveled all over the Earth Kingdom, tracking down bounties, collecting rewards, that sort of thing. That's where I met Nyla, isn't that right, boy?" Nyla grunted in reply. "My father got him as payment for helping a noble up north- he collected all kinds of rare animals. My father taught me everything I know about bounty hunting- tracking, combat, capturing targets… but the truth is, I didn't plan to follow in his footsteps. Sure, I helped him when he was on the job, but I never saw myself working as a bounty hunter."

"So, what happened?" Sokka asked.

"A little under fifteen years ago, when I was sixteen years old, something happened. My father had taken a job from a noble in the southern half of the Earth Kingdom- his daughter ran away from home, and our job was to track her down. We found her, but on the way back to the noble's estate, we were attacked… by the noble's guards."

June looked down at the ground. "It was a setup. My father made a lot of enemies in his line of work, and there were plenty of people who wanted him dead. I found out later that this noble had been working with a smuggler my father and I put away a few weeks earlier. The noble let the smuggler use his estate to stash his goods, in exchange for a cut of the profits from the smuggled goods. Let's just say the noble wasn't too happy about his income loss. So, he made a trap for my father and me. We were completely outnumbered by his guards- we never stood a chance. They killed my father, and gave me this." June turned back, and lifted up her shirt. On her stomach, to the right of her belly button was a deep jagged scar- after a moment, she lowered her shirt and turned back to the front of the saddle. "After they stabbed me in the stomach, they took everything off Nyla and… just _left_. They left both of us to die. And I would have died on that day… if _he_ hadn't saved me."

"Who?" asked Suki.

"…Piandao."

"_What?_ Piandao saved you?" Sokka asked, incredulous.

"Yeah, Piandao saved me. He'd already been on the run from the Fire Nation for twenty years before I met him. He'd been traveling all over; by sheer luck, he came across me, and nursed me back to health. I owe Piandao my life."

"Is that why you joined the Order of the White Lotus?" Suki asked. "To repay your debt to Master Piandao?"

"No. The truth is, I don't think anything I do will be enough to repay Piandao for everything he did for me." June paused for a moment. "After Piandao saved me, I went to that noble's estate… but it was empty. From that day forward, my life changed- I decided to become a bounty hunter like my father. I traveled all over, rounding up all kinds of lowlifes, and all the while, I kept searching for that noble, promising myself that when I found him, I would make that bastard pay for what he did to my father and me."

"So, did you ever find the noble who set you up?" Suki asked.

It took several moments before June answered. "I'd been working as a bounty hunter for five years when I finally tracked down that noble," she replied. "I found him hiding in a little villa on the southeast edge of the Earth Kingdom."

June fell silent. Sokka and Suki waited in anticipation for her to resume her story. When she didn't, Sokka asked, "So, then what happened? Did you get your revenge?"

Several moments passed before June responded. "When I cornered the noble," she said, "I thought long and hard about what to do with him. I wanted to do it; I wanted to avenge my father. But, if I did, it would have put me on the same level as him. So instead, I knocked him out, dragged him to the nearest town, and dropped him in jail."

There was silence for several moments. Finally, Sokka asked cautiously, "Do you… do you regret your decision?"

June didn't answer at first; several moments passed before she replied, "For a long time, I wondered about that. I wondered if maybe, I should have killed that noble. But, I decided that if I'd killed him out of revenge, I would have dishonored my father's memory… so no, I don't regret my decision." There was silence for several minutes. June eventually asked, "So, how did you two meet Piandao?"

Sokka replied first, saying, "When me, Aang, and the others were in the Fire Nation, I became a student under Master Piandao. He taught me how to be a better fighter."

"What about you, Suki?"

"I wasn't with Sokka when he first met Piandao. I met him later, right before Sozin's Comet came."

"I see." There was a pause. "You know, you two are pretty good. I can see why Piandao chose you to be part of the Order of the White Lotus."

* * *

Several days passed. The three slowly made their way back to the village where they started. After about eighteen days, the three finally returned to the village of Garu. As Nyla trudged into town, Sokka asked, "Okay, we're here. What do we do now?"

June scanned the street before replying, "Piandao said the Council of Five would be sending someone to meet us. We just have to find the contact and give him the intelligence we found. Speaking of which, you two should give me the intelligence you found." Sokka and Suki complied, handing June the intelligence they had collected during their mission. June took out her intelligence as well, and rolled up the numerous papers into one large bundle. "Okay, keep your eyes open," she said. "This guy could be waiting anywhere." The three wouldn't have to wait long- after a few minutes, they heard a vice call to them, "Hey! You! You on the Shirshu! Come over here!" They looked over to the voice's source- in an alley between two buildings stood a man, wearing heavy clothes of brown and green that obscured his body. The man had a green cloth tied around his head, leaving only a small slit for his eyes.

June jumped down, mumbling "Stay here Nyla," before moving toward the man. Sokka and Suki jumped down and followed as well. When the three were close enough, the man asked them, "Do you have the intelligence?" June held up the roll of papers. "Right here." She handed them to the man- the man tucked the papers away in his clothes, and then pulled out two scrolls. "I've been asked to deliver two messages on the half of one Mister Piandao. The first is for 'June.'"

"That's me," June replied, and the man handed her the scroll. She opened it, and after a brief glance, she rolled it up and said, "Well, it looks like we'll be heading our separate ways." She left the alley, and waved to Sokka and Suki, without looking back. "You two take care of yourselves." Without another word, she hopped into Nyla's saddle, and with the snap of the reins, she and the great beast disappeared. "There's another message for 'Sokka and Suki.' I'm guessing that this letter is for you two." He handed Sokka the letter, and then said, "I need to be going. I'm sure the Council of Five will be able to put this intelligence to good use." The man disappeared down the alley. Sokka and Suki watched him leave for a few moments, before returning their attention to the scroll. Sokka opened the scroll, and the two read it:

_Sokka, Suki,_

_I'm sorry that I can't deliver this message to you in person, but some urgent business came up, and I had to attend to it. We have another assignment for you. As you may know, the Earth King disappeared after the fall of Ba Sing Se- after the war ended, the Council of Five asked us to track him down and bring him back to the city. We tracked him down to a small town in the Fire Nation colonies. Your assignment is to find him and bring him back to Ba Sing Se. Grand Master Iroh will be waiting for you and the Earth King._

_Piandao_


	8. Resignation

Chapter VIII: Resignation

Two weeks passed. Sokka and Suki had been sailing up the coast of the Earth Kingdom, to the Fire Nation colonies. The colonies had been one of the more controversial subjects discussed in the negotiations between the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Water Tribes. The colonies had served as a symbol of Fire Nation oppression and imperialism for the better part of a hundred years. But at the same time, people, both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, had lived and worked in the colonies for generations. Negotiations had come to a standstill for several weeks until a resolution had been proposed by Fire Lord Zuko- the colonies would stay, but over the course of about twenty years, the population of the colonies would be slowly moved back to the Fire Nation. The arrangement sparked protests all over the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, but it was the best anyone could hope for- the Council of Five certainly wasn't going to let the colonies stay, but trying to remove them too quickly could cause all sorts of political problems.

Sokka and Suki stood by the bow of the boat, leaning against the railing. Suki asked out loud, "So you met the Earth King, Sokka?"

"Yep," he replied.

"How was he?"

"He was nice. He was a really horrible judge of character, but he was nice."

"So, what happened to him?"

"Well, after Ba Sing Se fell, we all headed down to Chameleon Bay to sail to the Fire Nation. The King stayed behind- he said he wanted to travel the world, meet new people."

"So, he's out there alone?"

"No, he isn't alone. He has his bear Bosco with him."

"Bear? You mean platypus-bear, right?" Sokka shook his head. "Skunk-bear?" Sokka shook his head again. "_Gopher-bear?_" Sokka shook his head one last time. "Wow. This Earth King sounds like a weird guy."

Two days passed before Sokka and Suki landed in the colonies. From the ship, they could see the sharp angles, the delicate looking roofs, and the various reds and blacks that dominated Fire Nation architecture, stretching as far as the eye could see. If it hadn't been for the numerous Earth Kingdom flags flying alongside those of the Fire Nation, and the occasional Earth Kingdom soldier, one could easily believe that they were in the Fire Nation.

Sokka and Suki descended the ramp from the boat onto the docks. They looked around, watching as innumerable people passed by. "There's so many people here," Sokka said. "How are we supposed to find the Earth King?"

"Hey, don't worry Sokka," Suki replied. "You said that he was traveling with his 'bear,' right? I'm sure he won't be that hard to find." The two began to follow the crowd. As they wandered between the innumerable buildings of the colonies, they got few looks- whether it was because more people had visited the colonies since the war ended, or because the onlookers didn't want to draw the attention of the innumerable soldiers they passed, neither Sokka nor Suki could say. Eventually, they came to a small shop of some kind. Two men stood by the entrance- one was a fairly well-dressed man; the other was not, his clothes seemingly made of rags. Near the shabbier man stood a large, brown beast- Suki couldn't identify it, but Sokka did immediately.

It was a bear. Not a platypus-bear or a gopher-bear or a skunk-bear- just… a _bear_. Sokka stopped Suki, so he could listen on the two men's conversation.

"I've already told you," the better dressed man said, "I don't allow animals in my tea shop."

The shabby man replied, "And I've already told you, Bosco is very well-behaved. It's like he's just a really hairy person. Right Bosco?" The bear replied with a sound that was somewhere between a growl and a grunt. The shabby man laughed and said, "He's a human at heart."

"Well, regardless of how human he may be at heart, this Bosco is still an animal. And my policy states I don't allow animals in my tea shop. Good day." The well dressed man turned and disappeared into his shop. The shabby man sighed and said, "Well Bosco, I guess we'll have to go somewhere else for tea. He turned away from the store, adjusting the small pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. The bear had been a dead giveaway, but now that Sokka had a full view of the man, there was no doubt in his mind- he had gotten considerably darker than Sokka remembered, but the light, almost fragile features were unmistakable.

Kuei. The Earth King.

Sokka and Suki approached. At once, Kuei took notice of them, and a large smile appeared on his face. "Sokka!" Kuei said, obviously surprised. "It's good to see you again!" He looked over at Suki. "I see you have a friend."

"Kuei, this is Suki. She's the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors. For real this time." Suki bowed and said, "It's an honor to meet you, your highness."

Kuei smiled a little. "No one's called me 'your highness' for months. You can just call me Kuei." Bosco stood up on his rear legs and made a confused sound. "It looks like Bosco wants to meet you too. Go ahead and introduce yourself." Bosco held out one of his paws and made another sound- it was impossible to describe, but it sounded happy. So, Suki gingerly took Bosco's paw and shook it, saying, "It's nice to meet you too, Bosco." Bosco made another happy sound before returning to all fours. "This is no place for a reunion," Kuei said. "Why don't we go back to my place?"

A few minutes passed as Kuei, riding on Bosco, led Sokka and Suki through the streets of the colony. Eventually, they came to the outskirts, where the sharp, crisp Fire Nation buildings gave way to small, shabby houses. They eventually stopped in front of one- Kuei jumped off of Bosco and said, "Well, here we are. Home sweet home… for now, anyway." He pushed open the door. "Please, come in. We can talk inside." Bosco followed him inside- Sokka and Suki did as well. The inside of Kuei's shack was small, but well-kept. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to give you a quick tour of the place," Kuei said, before pointing to a bed in the far left corner of the room. "That's my bed." He pointed to a mat in the far right corner that Bosco was laying on. "That's where Bosco sleeps…" He pointed to a table in the center of the house. "…this is the breakfast table…" He finished by pointing to a series of shelves mounted to a wall on the right side of the house. "… and those are my… I guess you could call them _souvenirs_ of my travels through the Earth Kingdom." Sokka and Suki could see that numerous trinkets occupied the shelves to their right. Suki wandered over to the shelves and investigated the trinkets. She picked up one- a small, bronze medallion, with some sort of symbol carved in the front. She examined it closely and asked, "What is this thing?"

"Please be careful with that," Kuei replied. "That marks me as an honorary member of the Sion sandbender tribe."

"Wait, you've been to the Si Wong Desert?" Sokka asked, approaching the shelves as well.

Kuei approached the two. "Twice, in fact. From Chameleon Bay, Bosco and I traveled to the southern tip of the Earth Kingdom, and then here, to the Fire Nation colonies. May I see that?" Suki gave him the medallion- he looked down at it briefly before continuing. "Did you know, each sandbender tribe lives in a fortress called a sietch? They carve tunnels in a huge rock, and all the members of the tribe live inside. Every major tribe has at least one sietch- more powerful tribes have more. The most powerful tribe- the Jan tribe- has over a dozen on the southern edge of the Si Wong Desert."

"That's interesting…" Suki said, as she continued to examine the various trinkets on the shelves.

"I know. People can be so _fascinating_, don't you think?" Kuei asked, with a smile. "But places can be just as fascinating. Recently I visited a town called Taku- it was a fairly large town to the east of here. Taku was destroyed in the early days of the War- Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom soldiers have just gotten around to rebuilding. But anyway, every year in the fall, winds blow south from the North Pole. The winds carry rocks from the mountains, and drop them down into Taku. People around there call it _Shi Yu_- the Stone Rain. When fall comes, I'm going to go out there and see it myself."

At this point, Sokka interjected. "You know," he said, "it's great that you found all this amazing stuff, but we didn't come here just to listen to your stories." It took a few moments for the former Earth King to process what Sokka had told him. Then, Kuei said, "Oh, of course! I never asked you why you came here."

Sokka took a seat at the table. "Thank you. Suki and I came here on business."  
Kuei took a seat as well. "What kind of business?" he asked.

"The Order of the White Lotus sent us on the behalf of the Council of Five. They wanted us to find you, and bring you back to Ba Sing Se."

"The Council of Five sent you? To find me?" Kuei asked, stunned. He shook his head. "No, I… I can't go back. I ran away from my city, my _nation_, when they needed me the most. I can't go back with my people thinking I'm a coward."

Suki leaned against the table, next to Sokka. "There wasn't anything you could have done, Kuei. All you could do was escape from the Fire Nation army."

Kuei stood up and walked away from the table. "But that's not all. For so long, I was… ignorant of my people, of an entire world outside my palace- but, in my travels, I met people. _My people_. I've learned more traveling in these past few months, than in all the time I've spent in the palace library. I feel like I've found a part of me that was missing… like I've found my true calling. I want to travel the world, and learn everything I can about all the people in it."

Sokka opened his mouth as if to say something, but Suki put her hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Sokka and I need to talk outside real quick," Suki said, pulling on Sokka's shoulder. "We'll be right back." Suki pulled Sokka out the front door. Once they were outside, Sokka asked, "Okay, what's this about Suki?"

"Sokka, I've been thinking, and I don't think we should take the Earth King back to Ba Sing Se?"

"Huh? Why not?"

"Well… look at him. He's found something he really enjoys, and I don't think we have the right to take that away from him."

"So the guy has a hobby in anthropology. It's not like he'll have to give it up when he goes back to Ba Sing Se."

"Sokka, if Kuei becomes the Earth King again, he won't be able to travel around anymore. If he wants to stay out here, then we really can't stop him."

"…But what about our mission?"

"Sokka, Kuei can decide for himself if he wants to go back to Ba Sing Se with us. It's not like we can knock him out and drag him all the way there ourselves."

There was a long pause before Sokka replied, "…I guess you're right." They went back inside; Kuei was waiting for them, standing by the shelves. "Hey," he said, "did you two finish talking?"  
"Yeah," Sokka replied.

"We should probably get going." Kuei let out a disappointed sigh. "Just give me a few minutes to pack my things."

"Actually…" Suki began, "Sokka and I aren't going to take you back to Ba Sing Se. Look, if you've found your calling in life, then it really isn't our place to stop you."

Kuei looked at Suki, stunned, before a wide smile cracked across his face. "You really mean it?"

"Yeah." Sokka sighed. "But we have a problem now. Our master is expecting us to bring you to him. What do we do now?"

"I think I have a solution to your problem?"

Suki looked over at Kuei. "You do?"

"Well, yes- I've come across a lot of impersonators of me in my travels. If you tell your master that I was just an impersonator, I'm sure he would believe you."

Sokka turned to Suki. "Do you think that'll work?"

"I don't see why it wouldn't- all we'd have to do is keep a straight face. But just to be on the safe side…" Suki turned to Kuei. "You should probably get out of the colonies as soon as possible."

"Okay." He looked over his shoulder, at his bear. "Bosco, pack your bags! We're going to the Fire Nation!"

"Wait, why would you go to the Fire Nation?" Suki asked.

"Well, last time I checked, there were more nations on the map than just the Earth Kingdom. And if I'm learning more about other people, the Fire Nation seems like a good place to start."

"But what about that… um, that _Shi Yu_ thing?"

"Eh, there's always next year."

* * *

The day passed. The next morning, Sokka, Suki, Kuei, and Bosco made their way to the docks. Sokka and Suki waited in silence as Kuei stood in the line to purchase tickets to the Fire Nation. Bosco waited with Sokka and Suki, laying at the ground by their feet. Suki looked over at him, and after noting the worried look on his face, asked, "Having second thoughts?"

Sokka shook his head. "No. I agree with what you said- If Kuei is happy then we don't have any right to take that away from him. I'm just worried about how Master Iroh will react when we tell him the bad news."

"Hey, I'm sure Iroh would understand. Not every mission can be a success, you know."

"Tell me about it." The failed invasion on the Day of Black Sun briefly flashed through Sokka's mind.

Several more minutes passed in silence. Eventually, Kuei returned. "Okay, I got the tickets." He shifted the bag slung over his shoulder. "So… I guess this is it, then."

"I guess so," Sokka replied. At that moment, Bosco made a short sound and stood up on his back paws. "I think Bosco's right," Kuei said. "We should say our goodbyes now. Goodbye Sokka. It was nice to see you again. And it was nice to finally meet you, Suki." Kuei bowed to the two; Sokka and Suki bowed in return. Then, Bosco made another short sound, and put his paws around Sokka and Suki. Surprise and even a little bit of terror passed through the two, before the returned the bear's hug. "It was nice to meet you too, Bosco," Suki said. The bear made a happy sound before releasing her and Sokka.

"You know," Kuei began, "I think I'm going to write a book about all the I've met. I don't know what I'm going to call, but right under the title, I want it to say, '_The Story of How I Lost My Kingdom, and Discovered Its People_.'" A bell began to sound, emanating from a boat anchored nearby. "Well, that's my cue," Kuei said, adjusting his bag one last time. He began to turn, but stopped. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "I almost forgot something! When you see the Avatar… when you see Aang again, tell him the Earth King says, 'Thank you.'" He turned toward the boat. "Come on Bosco." The bear made a sad sound, but began to follow Kuei to the boat. Sokka and Suki watched him climb the ramp- for a single moment, he looked back at them, a smile on his face, and gave them a friendly wave, before continuing on his way. A few minutes later, the ramp was withdrawn from the side of the boat- at the same time, a great column of black smoke poured from the ship's smokestack, followed by the thumping of the ship's powerful engines. Then, the boat slowly glided away from the dock. It gradually picked up speed, cutting its way through the ocean, belching a great column of smoke as it made its way to the horizon in the west.

Sokka and Suki must have stood at the dock for an hour, watching that column of smoke grow smaller and smaller, until finally, it disappeared just over the horizon. A few more moments passed before Sokka finally said, "Well, there's no putting it off anymore. Let's head to Ba Sing Se."


	9. Pulse

Chapter IX: Pulse

Two weeks passed as Sokka and Suki made their way to Ba Sing Se. One day after leaving the colonies, the two were fortunate enough to to find a caravan of traders on the way to the Earth Kingdom capital- after paying a small fee, the two hopped into the back of a small wagon, and the caravan was on its way. The inside of the wagon was cramped, being filled to the brim with various goods, but they were willing to put up with the slight discomfort- the wagon might not have been as fast as Appa, but it was still faster than walking.

One day, as the two sat in the back of the wagon, Sokka said out loud, "You know, I just remembered something."

"What is it?" Suki asked.

"Last month… last month would've been the anniversary of when Sozin's Comet returned."

"Yeah… you're right! It's been over a year since the War ended now, hasn't it?"

"The others were probably celebrating then." Sokka looked down at the wagon floor. "We should've been there with them."

"Well, there's always next year, Sokka." Suki paused, thinking about how she could cheer up Sokka. "And maybe there's a bright side to this."

"Really?" Sokka sounded unconvinced.

"Master Iroh's a Grand Lotus, right? Maybe we're gong to see him because we're finally getting ranked."

"You think so?" Sokka still didn't sound very convinced.

""It's the only explanation. Otherwise, we would've handed the Earth King over to Piandao or something like that.

Sokka sighed. "I guess we'll see."

* * *

Several days passed. The night before it was to reach Ba Sing Se, Sokka and Suki left the caravan. They'd set up their own camp some distance away from the caravan, sitting around their small campfire in silence; Sokka wouldn't talk, in spite of Suki's numerous promptings. At some point, Suki fell asleep, to be awoken later by the rising sun. She looked over; much to her surprise, Sokka was already awake, but she was uncertain if he had slept as well, or if he had stayed up through the night. She then looked over to the horizon in the east- off in the distance, through the brilliant rays of the sun, she could see the massive structure that was the Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se. Concentrated in particular area were numerous slender structures that rose high above the wall, completely unidentifiable to Suki. She heard something shift, and looked over to see Sokka standing, looking out toward the wall.

"Well, today's the day…" Sokka said nervously.

"Come on Sokka, don't be worried. Suki said to him, standing up as well. "We're here, and we have a plan. What's the worst that could happen?" A few scenarios ran through Sokka's head, but he wisely kept them to himself. Instead, he looked over at Suki and replied, "…I guess I'm just being paranoid. We should get going."

Several hours passed as Sokka and Suki headed toward the wall. They passed few people at first, but their numbers grew rapidly as they drew closer to the wall. Eventually, the two came to a near standstill, edging forward by mere inches at a time. But the wall was much closer now- it towered over them, completely blocking out the sun. The strange structures were much closer as well, though they were much further down the wall. Suki still couldn't identify them, but from the way they glinted in the sunlight, they were made of metal, and the red flags flying over them meant they were Fire Nation. "Sokka?" Suki asked, pointing to the slender structures. "Do you know what those are?"

Sokka regarded the structures silently for several moments. Eventually, he replied, "I think so. The Fire Nation engineers called them 'cranes.' They're supposed to help rebuild the walls of Ba Sing Se." During the negotiations at the end of the War, the Fire Nation agreed to make several reparations to the Earth Kingdom, primarily in the form of numerous public works projects. Numerous camps sprung up all over the Earth Kingdom, always near the massive cluster of cranes that indicated that a construction, reconstruction, or restoration project was underway. The benefits of the public works were threefold- on top of restoring the the infrastructure of the Earth Kingdom and allowing the Fire Nation to make its reparations, it provided potentially thousands of jobs to Fire Nation soldiers who suddenly found themselves out of work.

"Huh. Let me guess, Zuko came up with that idea, right?"

"Actually, Iroh was the one who suggested it. Don't you remember the negotiations, Suki?"

"Uh… no. I kinda fell asleep at all of them."

"…me too. Katara told me what happened when they were over…"

It would be another hour before Sokka and Suki would be allowed inside the wall. And it would be another hour before the the two would be able to reach a train station. In the time since they had become initiates for the Order of the White Lotus, they had almost completely forgotten how massive Ba Sing Se truly was. By the time Sokka and Suki's train arrived in the Inner Ring, the sun had moved far into the western sky, and by the time Sokka and Suki were finally able to locate the Jasmine Dragon, the sky had turned a deep orange. Sokka and Suki climbed one of the staircases flanking the balcony where Aang and Katara shared their first real kiss… and where Sokka had launched himself into a rant when he spotted the two exactly six seconds later.

"I still can't believe you embarrassed those two like that, Sokka," Suki said out loud.

"Who?" Sokka asked.

"Oh, don't pretend you don't know." We all saw you, and I'm pretty sure most of Ba Sing Se heard you as well.  
Sokka stopped climbing the staircase. "Well, what can I say? Katara's my sister- I have to look out for her."

"You can start by saying sorry- you never did apologize to those two for that. And really, you'd yell at Aang?" Sokka sighed and thought to himself, _Here we go again…_

"You know, you're lucky Aang's so nice. If he wasn't, he probably would've bent you into the ground over that."

"Well, you remember how we started out? It didn't take too long for us to go from kissing to… you know… _that_. And Aang's only… well, he'd be fourteen now. Isn't he kinda young to be thinking about that?"

Suki replied flatly, "I can't believe we're arguing over whether or not it's okay for Aang to just think about having sex with your sister." Sokka's jaw dropped at Suki's bluntness. But she wasn't done yet. She continued, "If I remember correctly, you were only two years older than Aang is now when you decided it was time to lose your virginity. And don't even tell me you weren't thinking about girls _that_ way when you were his age- knowing you, you were probably even younger than that."

Sokka opened his mouth to protest, but immediately closed it. Everything Suki had said was true, right down to him being younger than Aang when he'd started really noticing the… _differences_ between girls and boys- he'd been ten. "Look, what goes on in Aang's head is his own business. And what goes on between him and Katara is their business."

"Hey, we don't even know if they're still together."

"I think it's a safe bet to say that they are." She continued up the stairs. "Come on. We've got a mission to finish." Sokka followed her to the top of the staircase.

If the exterior was anything to go by, the Jasmine Dragon had been as successful as ever. The pure white paint of the building seemed to glow in the light of the setting sun. A warm, inviting light poured from the front entrance of the shop, although Sokka and Suki could see that it was empty at this hour. Almost empty- there was a single in the shop. It was a man sweeping the floor, short, and fairly friendly looking with grey hair and beard, wearing a plain green robe of simple clothes in the greens and browns of the Earth Kingdom. But beneath that friendly exterior was a living legend, a former general of the Fire Nation, and one of the most powerful firebenders in the entire world.

The Dragon of the West. Iroh.

Sokka hesitated once he saw the Grand Lotus. But then, Suki placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry Sokka," she said to him. "Everything will be fine." Sokka nodded, took a deep breath, and stepped into the shop. Iroh looked up from his sweeping, a smile forming on his face. "Sokka, Suki, it's been such a long time since I last saw you two." He looked past them, searching for a nonexistent third member in their group. "Where is the Earth King? You were supposed to bring him with you."

Suki answered before Sokka could. "That person that we found in the Fire Nation colonies… it wasn't the Earth King. It was just an impersonator."

A stern look crept onto Iroh's face "Are you sure?"

This time, Sokka answered the question. "I met the Earth King in person. I'm positive that it wasn't him."

Iroh stared at the two silently before sighing. "Another dead end. That is unfortunate." Iroh took a seat at a nearby table. "This was the most reliable lead we had on the Earth King."

Several moments of awkward silence passed before Sokka asked, "So… what's next?"

Iroh looked up at Sokka. "I had hoped that this mission would have ended successfully, as a final victory during your outstanding performances as initiates for the Order. But you can't be blamed for something outside your control."

"Wait_…_so does that mean…" Sokka began.

"It means you're finally going to become a ranked member of the Order of the White Lotus," Piandao's voice answered. Sokka and Suki jumped in surprise, and quickly turned o the source of the voice. Indeed, Piandao was sitting at a table tucked away in the corner of the shop, outside the view from the entrance. Pakku sat next to him. "Ordinarily, an initiate would have to accomplish a few more missions…" Pakku began, "but you've gone above and beyond our expectations, even if you weren't able to bring back the Earth King." He stood up. "Thanks to you, the Outcasts have been almost completely wiped out here in the Earth Kingdom. And I'm sure Jeong Jeong is grateful for the information you found on the Outcast bases in the Fire Nation."

"That's talk for another time. We should begin the ceremony soon," Iroh interjected. "You should head down into the basement. I just need to close the shop, and I'll be right with you." He began to make his way for the door. He was just about to shut it when he stopped, and mumbled to himself, "Hmm, what is that?"

"What is what?" Piandao asked. Almost at once, he, Pakku, Sokka, and Suki had all gathered by the door, peering out as well.

Outside, something very strange was happening. In the south, they could all see what could only be described as… a wall. But it wasn't like the walls of Ba Sing Se- even at its distance, it easily dwarfed any of the walls in Ba Sing Se. From the way it shifted, Sokka, and Suki, were both able to identify it as a cloud of dust. But this cloud was unimaginably massive. And it was heading right for them. Iroh quickly tried to pull the door shut, but with terrifying speed, the cloud suddenly swept over them.

An explosion sounded in Sokka's head. His vision had gone completely white, and his ears were filled with a ringing sound. The white light faded, allowing Sokka to see that he was now lying on the floor of the tea shop. The ringing gave way to the sound of someone's hacking coughs, before Iroh's voice called out, "Is everyone okay!"

Sokka slowly pushed himself to his feet, a slight ringing still in his ears, and replied, "Yeah! Yeah, just fine!" As the others staggered to their feet, Sokka quickly glanced around; every table and chair in the shop had been overturned, and several windows, and even a large section of the wall on the south side of the building had been blown in by the force of the blast. Everything, and everyone, seemed to be completely covered in a fine layer of dust. As everyone staggered to their feet, Piandao, already brushing dust off of himself, asked, "What just happened?"

Pakku peered out the door, and replied, "I don't know, but that might have something to do with it." Everyone peered outside again; to the south, in the light of the setting sun, a massive beige column could be seen high above the horizon to the south. "That's… not good," Sokka said, stating the obvious.

"Oh no…" Iroh mumbled, dropping to his knees. "There's only one thing it the world that could've caused that."

"That was Aang, wasn't it?" Suki asked.

"Indeed." Iroh got back to his feet, and turned to the two, a serious look on his face. "Something very bad has just happened to the Avatar." He then said, "Pakku, give me your badge." Pakku complied, taking a small badge out from the inside of his parka. Iroh took a similar badge out of his pocket, and handed one to Sokka and the other to Suki. "Take these- they mark you as official members of the Order of the White Lotus. It looks like your ceremony will have to wait." Iroh's words became faster, a distinct edge of urgency in his voice. "We know where the Avatar is. You need to go there, find out what's happened, and put an end to this as soon as you can. This is your first official mission for the Order of the White Lotus. You need to go, _now_."

Piandao began to head out the tea shop, saying out loud, "Follow me." Sokka and Suki complied, following him down the steps, and around to the back of the tea shop. There, they found a large beast, with long slender legs, and rough green skin. "The Avatar's location is on this map," Piandao said, pushing a scroll into Sokka's hands. "You can take my giant eel-hound- you'll need it to get to the Avatar anytime soon." The eel-hound lowered itself so Sokka and Suki could climb on. As soon as they were mounted, Piandao said to them, "Be careful," and gave the eel-hound a strong slap in the hindquarters. At once, the great beast bolted out of the alley, and sprinted down the road at top speed.

Sokka handed Suki the map, and shouted over the wind, "Take a look at this, and tell me where it points to!" She took the map, and after a few moments, she called back, "I don't know! There's no name for the town!"

She gave the map back to Sokka- he could see a red dot on the west coast of the Earth Kingdom, just slightly above the equator- presumably, that was where Aang was, but just as Suki said, there was no name. It didn't matter to him, though- if an eel-hound could run from Ba Sing Se to an outlying Fire Nation island in one day, then it shouldn't have any problems reaching the town. At that moment, he heard Suki call out to him, "I hope everyone's okay!"

Sokka thought to himself, _This is gonna be some reunion…_ before he replied, mostly to himself, "Yeah. Me too."

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED… **


End file.
